Single-chain cd40-receptor agonist proteins

ABSTRACT

Provided herein are specific CD40 receptor agonist proteins, nucleic acids encoding the same, and methods of treating a subject having a CD40L-associated disease or disorder. The CD40 receptor agonist proteins provided herein comprise three soluble CD40L domains and an Fc fragment. The CD40 receptor agonist proteins are substantially non-aggregating and suitable for therapeutic, diagnostic and/or research applications.

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/795,020, filed Oct. 26, 2017, which is a continuation of PCT/EP2016/059983, filed May 4, 2016, published Nov. 10, 2016, under PCT Article 21(2) in English; which claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/156,813, filed May 4, 2015. The contents of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, TABLE OR COMPUTER PROGRAM

The Sequence Listing is concurrently submitted herewith with the specification as an ASCII formatted text file via EFS-Web with a file name of Sequence_Listing.txt with a creation date of Oct. 25, 2017, and a size of 90.3 kilobytes. The Sequence Listing filed via EFS-Web is part of the specification and is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides specific CD40 receptor agonist proteins comprising three soluble CD40L domains and an Fc fragment, nucleic acid molecules encoding the CD40 receptor agonist proteins, and uses thereof. The CD40 receptor agonist proteins are substantially non-aggregating and suitable for therapeutic, diagnostic and/or research applications.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is known that trimerization of TNF superfamily (TNFSF) cytokines is required for efficient receptor binding and activation. Trimeric complexes of TNF superfamily cytokines, however, are difficult to prepare from recombinant monomeric units.

WO 01/49866 and WO 02/09055 disclose recombinant fusion proteins comprising a TNF cytokine and a multimerization component, particularly a protein from the C1q protein family or a collectin. A disadvantage of these fusion proteins is, however, that the trimerization domain usually has a large molecular weight and/or that the trimerization is rather inefficient.

Schneider et al. (J Exp Med 187 (1989), 1205-1213) describe that trimers of TNF cytokines are stabilized by N-terminally positioned stabilization motifs. In CD95L, the stabilization of the receptor binding domain trimer is presumably caused by N-terminal amino acid domains which are located near the cytoplasmic membrane.

Shiraishi et al. (Biochem Biophys Res Commun 322 (2004), 197-202) describe that the receptor binding domain of CD95L may be stabilized by N-terminally positioned artificial α-helical coiled-coil (leucine zipper) motifs. It was found, however, that the orientation of the polypeptide chains to each other, e.g. parallel or antiparallel orientation, can hardly be predicted. Further, the optimal number of heptad-repeats in the coiled-coil zipper motif are difficult to determine. In addition, coiled-coil structures have the tendency to form macromolecular aggregates after alteration of pH and/or ionic strength.

WO 01/25277 relates to single-chain oligomeric polypeptides which bind to an extracellular ligand binding domain of a cellular receptor, wherein the polypeptide comprises at least three receptor binding sites of which at least one is capable of binding to a ligand binding domain of the cellular receptor and at least one is incapable of effectively binding to a ligand binding domain of the cellular receptor, whereby the single-chain oligomeric polypeptides are capable of binding to the receptor, but incapable of activating the receptor. For example, the monomers are derived from cytokine ligands of the TNF family, particularly from TNF-α.

WO 2005/103077 discloses single-chain fusion polypeptides comprising at least three monomers of a TNF family ligand member and at least two peptide linkers that link the monomers of the TNF ligand family members to one another. Recent experiments, however, have shown that these single-chain fusion polypeptides show undesired aggregation.

WO 2010/010051 discloses single-chain fusion polypeptides comprising three soluble TNF family cytokine domains and at least two peptide linkers. The described fusion polypeptides are substantially non-aggregating.

Recent studies have shown that the F(ab′)₂-Fragments of the anti-CD40-mAb currently explored in the clinic, are not agonistic without further crosslinking. (see Vonderheide, R. H. and M. J. Glennie (2013). “Agonistic CD40 antibodies and cancer therapy.” Clin Cancer Res 19(5): 1035-1043.

There is a need in the art for novel CD40 receptor agonists that exhibit high biological activity independent of Fc-gamma-R based crosslinking in vivo, high stability, and allow for efficient recombinant manufacturing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides specific CD40 receptor agonist proteins that mimic the CD40:CD40L interaction in vivo, exhibit low proteolytic degradation and prolong in vivo half-life.

The CD40 receptor agonist proteins of the instant invention generally comprise: (i) a first soluble CD40L cytokine domain; (ii) a first peptide linker; (iii) a second soluble CD40L domain; (iv) a second peptide linker; (v) a third soluble CD40L domain; (vi) a third peptide linker (e.g., a hinge-linker) and (vii) an antibody Fc fragment.

In one embodiment, the antibody Fc fragment (vi) is located N terminal to the first CD40L domain (i) and/or C-terminal to the third CD40L domain (v). In another embodiment the antibody Fc fragment is located C-terminally to the third CD40L domain (v). In one embodiment, the polypeptide is substantially non aggregating. In another embodiment, the second and/or third soluble CD40L domain is an N-terminally shortened domain which optionally comprises amino acid sequence mutations.

In one embodiment, at least one of the soluble CD40L domains, particularly at least one of the soluble CD40L domains (iii) and (v), is a soluble CD40L domain with an N-terminal sequence which starts at amino acid Gln121 or Ile122 of human CD40L and wherein Gln121 may be replaced by a neutral amino acid, e.g., Ser or Gly. In another embodiment, at least one of the soluble CD40L domains, particularly at least one of the soluble CD40L domains (iii) and (v), is a soluble CD40L domain with an N-terminal sequences selected from (a) Gln121-Ile122 and (b) (Gly/Ser)121-Ile122. In one embodiment, the soluble CD40L domain ends with amino acid Leu261 of human CD40L and/or optionally comprises one or more mutation at positions E129, A130, S132, K133, T134, E142, Y145, Y146, C178, C194, R200, F201, C218, Q220, N240. In one embodiment, the soluble CD40L domains (i), (iii) and (v) comprise amino acids Gln121-Leu261 of human CD40L according to SEQ ID NO: 1.

In one embodiment, the first and second peptide linkers (ii) and (iv) independently have a length of 3-8 amino acids, particularly a length of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 amino acids, and preferably are glycine/serine linkers, optionally comprising an asparagine residue which may be glycosylated. In one embodiment, the first and the second peptide linkers (ii) and (iv) consist of the amino acid sequence according to SEQ ID NO: 2. In another embodiment, the polypeptide additionally comprises an N-terminal signal peptide domain, e.g., of SEQ ID NO: 17, which may comprise a protease cleavage site, and/or which additionally comprises a C-terminal element which may comprise and/or connect to a recognition/purification domain, e.g., a Strep-tag attached to a serine linker according to SEQ ID NO: 18.

In one embodiment, the antibody Fc fragment (vii) is fused to the soluble CD40L domain (i) and/or (v) via a hinge-linker, preferably of SEQ ID NO: 16. In another embodiment, the antibody Fc fragment (vii) consists of the amino acid sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 13 or 14.

In one embodiment, the single-chain fusion polypeptide of the present invention comprises the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 15, and 25-35.

In one embodiment, the present invention provides a CD40 receptor agonist protein comprising two single-chain fusion polypeptides each having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 27. In one embodiment, the two polypeptides are covalently linked through three interchain disulfide bonds formed between cysteine residues 453, 459, and 462 of each polypeptide.

In one embodiment, one or more of the asparagine residues at positions 147 and 296 of the mature polypeptide(s) SEQ ID NO: 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, or 34 are N-glycosylated. In another embodiment, the asparagine residues at positions 147 and 296 of the polypeptide(s) are both N-glycosylated.

In another embodiment, the polypeptide(s) are further post-translationally modified. In another embodiment, the post-translational modification comprises the N-terminal glutamine modified to pyroglutamate.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising a CD40 receptor agonist protein disclosed herein and one or more pharmaceutically acceptable carriers, diluents, excipients, and/or adjuvants.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a nucleic acid molecule encoding the CD40 receptor agonist protein. In another embodiment, the present invention provides an expression vector comprising the nucleic acid molecule. In another embodiment, the present invention provides a cell comprising the nucleic acid molecule. In a further embodiment, the cell is a eukaryotic cell. In another embodiment, the cell is a mammalian cell. In another embodiment, the cell is a Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell. In other embodiments, the cell is selected from the group consisting of CHO-DBX11, CHO-DG44, CHO-S, and CHO-K1 cells. In other embodiments, the cell is selected from the group consisting of Vero, BHK, HeLa, COS, MDCK, HEK-293, NIH-3T3, W138, BT483, Hs578T, HTB2, BT20, T47D, NSO, CRL7030, HsS78Bst, PER.C6, SP2/0-Ag14, and hybridoma cells.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of treating a subject having a CD40L-associated disease or disorder, the method comprising administering to the subject an effective amount of the CD40 receptor agonist protein. In one embodiment, the CD40 receptor agonist protein is administered alone. In another embodiment, the CD40 receptor agonist protein is administered before, concurrently, or after the administration of a second agent. In another embodiment, the disease or disorder is selected from the group consisting of: tumors, infectious diseases, inflammatory diseases, metabolic diseases, autoimmune disorders, degenerative diseases, apoptosis-associated diseases, and transplant rejections. In one embodiment, the tumors are solid tumors. In one embodiment, the tumors arise from the group of cancers consisting of sarcoma, esophageal cancer, and gastric cancer. In another embodiment, the tumors arise from Ewing's sarcoma or fibrosarcoma. In another embodiment, the tumors arise from the group of cancers consisting of Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma (NSCLC), pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, head and neck cancers, and Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC). In another embodiment, the tumors are lymphatic tumors. In one embodiment, the tumors are hematologic tumors. In another embodiment, the tumors arise from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), B cell lymphoma, Burkitt's lymphoma, chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), or hairy cell leukemia. In another embodiment, the autoimmune disorders are rheumatoid diseases, arthritic diseases, or rheumatoid and arthritic diseases. In a further embodiment, the disease or disorder is rheumatoid arthritis. In another embodiment, the degenerative disease is a neurodegenerative disease. In a further embodiment, the neurodegenerative disease is multiple sclerosis.

In one embodiment, the second agent is a chemotherapeutic, radiotherapeutic, or biological agent. In one embodiment, the second agent is selected from the group consisting of Duvelisib, Ibrutinib, Navitoclax, and Venetoclax. In another embodiment, the second agent is an apoptotic agent. In one embodiment, the apoptotic second agent is selected from the group consisting of Bortezomib, Azacitidine, Dasatinib, and Gefitinib. In a particular embodiment, the pharmaceutical compositions disclosed herein are administered to a patient by intravenous or subcutaneous administration. In other embodiments, the disclosed pharmaceutical compositions are administered to a patient byoral, parenteral, intramuscular, intrarticular, intrabronchial, intraabdominal, intracapsular, intracartilaginous, intracavitary, intracelial, intracerebellar, intracerebroventricular, intracolic, intracervical, intragastric, intrahepatic, intramyocardial, intraosteal, intrapelvic, intrapericardiac, intraperitoneal, intrapleural, intraprostatic, intrapulmonary, intrarectal, intrarenal, intraretinal, intraspinal, intrasynovial, intrathoracic, intrauterine, intravesical, bolus, vaginal, rectal, buccal, sublingual, intranasal, or transdermal administration.

In one embodiment, the CD40 receptor agonist protein is administered as a single bolus. In another embodiment, CD40 receptor agonist protein may be administered over several divided doses. The CD40 receptor agonist protein can be administered at about 0.1-100 mg/kg. In one embodiment, the CD40 receptor agonist protein can be administered at a dosage selected from the group consisting of: about 0.1-0.5, 0.1-1, 0.1-10, 0.1-20, 0.1-50, 0.1-75, 1-10, 1-15, 1-7.5, 1.25-15, 1.25-7.5, 2.5-7.5, 2.5-15, 5-15, 5-7.5, 1-20, 1-50, 7-75, 1-100, 5-10, 5-15, 5-20, 5-25, 5-50, 5-75, 10-20, 10-50, 10-75, and 10-100 mg/kg. In other embodiments, the CD40 receptor agonist protein is present in pharmaceutical compositions at about 0.1-100 mg/ml. In one embodiment, the CD40 receptor agonist protein is present in pharmaceutical compositions at an amount selected from the group consisting of: about 0.1-0.5, 0.1-1, 0.1-10, 0.1-20, 0.1-50, 0.1-75, 1-10, 1-20, 1-50, 1-75, 1-100, 5-10, 5-15, 5-20, 5-25, 5-50, 5-75, 10-20, 10-50, 10-75, or 10-100 mg/ml. In other embodiments, a therapeutically effective amount of CD40 receptor agonist protein is administered to a subject. In another embodiment, a prophylactically effective amount of CD40 receptor agonist protein is administered to a subject.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 Domain structure of a single-chain fusion polypeptide comprising three CD40L domains. I., II., III. Soluble CD40L domains.

FIG. 2 Schematic picture representing the general structure of CD40L.

-   -   ▪ ▪ ▪ Cell membrane, N-terminus located within the cell,     -   1. anti-parallel β-fold of receptor-binding domain (RBD),     -   2. interface of RBD and cell membrane,     -   3. protease cleavage site.

FIG. 3 Single-chain fusion polypeptide comprising an additional Fab antibody fragment.

FIG. 4 Dimerization of two C-terminally fused scFc fusion polypeptides via three disulfide bridges.

FIG. 5 The chromatograms of analytical SEC of hexavalent scCD 40L-RBD-FC fusion proteins PROTEIN A, PROTEIN B, and PROTEIN C.

FIG. 6 SDS-Page gel electrophoresis of PROTEIN A, PROTEIN B, and PROTEIN C expressed proteins under non-reduced and reduced conditions Lane 1: PROTEIN A, non-reduced; Lane 2: PROTEIN A, reduced; Lane 3: Molecular weight marker; Lane 4: PROTEIN B, non-reduced; Lane 5: PROTEIN B, reduced; Lane 6: blank, Lane 7, PROTEIN C, non-reduced; Lane 8: PROTEIN C, reduced;

FIG. 7 CD40-expressing Ramos B cells were incubated with PROTEIN X (c), PROTEIN A (d), PROTEIN B (e), or PROTEIN C (f), and the binding activity were shown in fluorescent units. (a) is cells only. (b) is cells only incubated with a fluorescent-labelled antibody.

FIG. 8 CD40-expressing Ramos B cells were incubated with 1 μg/ml PROTEIN X(b), 10 μg/ml PROTEIN X (c), 1 μg/ml PROTEIN A (d), or 10 μg/ml PROTEIN A (e) and the binding activity were shown in CD86 expression normalized to (a), which was not incubated with any CD40 receptor agonist.

FIG. 9 2 ml of blood were incubated with 1 μg/ml PROTEIN X (b), 50 μg/ml PROTEIN X (c), 1 μg/ml PROTEIN A (d), or 50 μg/ml PROTEIN A (e). The percentage of CD83-positive cells was determined and normalized to the control sample (a), which was not incubated with a CD40 receptor agonist.

FIG. 10 Schematic representation of the hexavalent single chain CD40 receptor agonist fusion protein of the invention. CH2-Carbohydrates (5) present on the inner surface areas normally shield the CH2-subdomain sterically (2) from proteases during “open Fc-conformation transits” wherein hinge-interchain disulfide bonds (4) are reduced and the covalent interchain linkage is disrupted. This enables CH2-dissociation and exposure of the inner surface areas and the upper hinge lysine K223 (6) towards proteases. Dimer association in the “open stage” remains intact due to the high affinity of the CH3 domains (3) to each other. (1) scCD40L-RBD; (2) CH2 domain; (3) CH3 domain; (4) Hinge-Cysteines (left side: oxidized to disulfide bridges; right side reduced stage with free thiols); (5) CH2-Carbohydrates attached to N297 position (EU-numbering); (6) Upper Hinge Lysine (K223)

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The inventors have discovered that fusing a single-chain CD40L receptor-binding domain to an antibody derived dimerization domain results in a hexavalent CD40 receptor agonist providing high biological activity combined with good stability. Accordingly, a single-chain fusion polypeptide comprising at least three soluble CD40L domains connected by two peptide linkers and N-terminally and/or C-terminally an antibody-derived dimerization domain, is provided.

Preferably, the single-chain fusion polypeptide is non-aggregating. The term “non-aggregating” refers to a monomer content of the preparation of 50%, preferably 70% and more preferably 90%. The ratio of monomer content to aggregate content may be determined by examining the amount of aggregate formation using size-exclusion chromatography (SEC). The stability concerning aggregation may be determined by SEC after defined time periods, e.g. from a few to several days, to weeks and months under different storage conditions, e.g. at 4° C. or 25° C. For the fusion protein, in order to be classified as substantially non-aggregating, it is preferred that the “monomer” content is as defined above after a time period of several days, e.g. 10 days, more preferably after several weeks, e.g. 2, 3 or 4 weeks, and most preferably after several months, e.g. 2 or 3 months of storage at 4° C., or 25° C. With regard to the definition of “monomer” in the case of FC-fusion proteins, the assembly of two polypeptide chains is driven by the FC-part and the functional unit of the resulting assembled protein consists of two chains. This unit is defined as “monomer” in the case of Fc-fusion proteins regardless of being a dimerized single-chain fusion polypeptide.

The single-chain fusion polypeptide may comprise additional domains which may be located at the N- and/or C-termini thereof. Examples for additional fusion domains are e.g. an N-terminal signal peptide domain which may comprise a protease cleave site or a C-terminal element which may comprise and/or connect to a recognition/purification domain. According to a preferred embodiment, the fusion polypeptide comprises a Strep-tag at its C-terminus that is fused via a linker. An exemplary Strep-tag including a short serine linker is shown in SEQ ID NO: 18.

The CD40 receptor agonist protein of the present invention comprises three soluble domains derived from CD40L. Preferably, those soluble domains are derived from a mammalian, particularly human CD40L including allelic variants and/or derivatives thereof. The soluble domains comprise the extracellular portion of CD40L including the receptor binding domain without membrane located domains. Like other proteins of the TNF superfamily, CD40L is anchored to the membrane via an N-terminal portion of 15-30 amino acids, the so-called stalk-region. The stalk region contributes to trimerization and provides a certain distance to the cell membrane. However, the stalk region is not part of the receptor binding domain (RBD).

Importantly, the RBD is characterized by a particular localization of its N- and C-terminal amino acids. Said amino acids are immediately adjacent and are located centrally to the axis of the trimer. The first N-terminal amino acids of the RBD form an anti-parallel beta-strand with the C-terminal amino acids of the RBD (FIG. 2).

Thus, the anti-parallel beta-strand of the RBD forms an interface with the cell membrane, which is connected to and anchored within the cell membrane via the amino acids of the stalk region. It is highly preferred that the soluble CD40L domains of the CD40 receptor agonist protein comprise a receptor binding domain of the CD40L lacking any amino acids from the stalk region. Otherwise, a long linker connecting the C-terminus of one of the soluble domains with the N-terminus of the next soluble domain would be required to compensate for the N-terminal stalk-region of the next soluble domain, which might result in instability and/or formation of aggregates.

A further advantage of such soluble domains is that the N- and C-terminal amino acids of the RBD are not accessible for any anti-drug antibodies. Preferably, the single-chain fusion polypeptide is capable of forming an ordered trimeric structure comprising at least one functional binding site for the respective CD40L receptor.

The CD40 receptor agonist protein comprises three functional CD40 receptor binding sites, i.e. amino acid sequences capable of forming a complex with a CD40 receptor. Thus, the soluble domains are capable of binding to the corresponding CD40 receptor. In one embodiment, at least one of the soluble domains is capable of receptor activation, whereby apoptotic and/or proliferative activity may be affected. In a further embodiment, one or more of the soluble domains are selected as not being capable of receptor activation.

The soluble CD40L domain may be derived from human CD40L as shown in SEQ ID NO: 1. Preferably, the soluble CD40L domains are derived from human CD40L, particularly starting from amino acids 121 or 122 and comprise particularly amino acids 121-261 or 122-261 of SEQ ID NO: 1. Optionally, amino acid Gln121 of SEQ ID NO: 1 may be replaced by a non-charged amino acid, e.g. Ser or Gly.

TABLE 1 Sequence of Wild-Type Human CD40L Protein SEQ ID NO Sequence 1 MIETYNQTSPRSAATGLPISMKIFMYLLTVFLITQMIGS ALFAVYLHRRLDKIEDERNLHEDFVFMKTIQRCNTGERS LSLLNCEEIKSQFEGFVKDIMLNKEETKKENSFEMQKGD QNPQIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLE NGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLCL KSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPG ASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKL

As indicated above, the soluble CD40L domains may comprise the wild-type sequences as indicated in SEQ ID NO: 1. It should be noted, however, that it is possible to introduce mutations in one or more of these soluble domains, e.g. mutations which alter (e.g. increase or decrease) the binding properties of the soluble domains. In one embodiment, soluble domains that cannot bind to the corresponding cytokine receptor can be selected.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the soluble CD40L domain (i) comprises a mutant of CD40L or a receptor binding domain thereof resulting in reduced affinity and/or reduced activation of CD40 receptor.

The binding and/or activity of the mutant may be determined, e.g., by the assays as described in An et al. (2011, J Biol Chem 286(13): 11226-11235); Singh et al. (1998, Protein Sci 7(5): 1124-1135); Kim et al, J Biol Chem 286(13): 11226-11235; or Singh et al (1998). Protein Sci 7(5): 1124-1135.

The mutant may be generated by any technique and is known by the skilled person. The substitution may affect at least one amino acid of CD40L, e.g., human CD40L (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 1) or a receptor binding domain thereof as described herein. Preferred substitutions in this regard affect at least one of the following amino acids of human CD40L of SEQ ID NO: 1: E129, S132, T134, E142, Y145, Y146, R200, F201, Q220, such as E129G, S132E, S132N, T134E, T134N, E142G, E142S, Y145S, Y146S, R200S, Q220E, and Q220S; in particularly E129G and E142G.

The amino acid substitution(s) may affect the binding and/or activity of CD40L, e.g., human CD40L, to or on either the CD40 binding or the CD40 induced signaling. The binding and/or activity of the CD40 may be affected positively, i.e., stronger, more selective or more specific binding and/or more activation of the receptor. Alternatively, the binding and/or activity of the CD40 may be affected negatively, i.e., weaker, less selective or less specific binding and/or less or no activation of the receptor.

Examples of mutants of CD40L with amino acid substitution(s) of the invention that affect binding and/or activation of CD40 may be found, e.g., in FIG. 1 of An et al. (cf. above).

Thus one embodiment is a CD40 receptor agonist protein as described herein wherein at least one of the soluble domains comprises a mutant of CD40L or a receptor binding domain thereof which binds and/or activates CD40 to a lesser extent than the wildtype-CD40L.

Further examples of mutants of CD40L, which show reduced CD40L induced receptor aggregation/and or reduced signaling are S132E, and T134E.

One embodiment is a CD40 receptor agonist protein as described herein, wherein at least one artificial N-glycosylation consensus site is introduced into the sequence area defined by E129-5136 resulting in reduced receptor aggregation/and or reduced signaling. Examples of mutants of CD40L resulting in an artificial N-glycosylation consensus site in this region are E129N, A130N, S132N, K133N and T134N.

In a further embodiment of the invention, one or more of the soluble CD40L domains (i), (iii), and (v) may comprise a mutant of CD40L or a receptor binding domain thereof resulting in reduced self-aggregation and/or prolonged in vivo stability. Preferred substitutions in this regard affect at least one of the following amino acids of human CD40L of SEQ ID NO: 1: C178, C194, C218, N240; such as C178(A,S,G); C194(A,S,G), F201 (G,S,T,D), C218(A,S,G) and N240(E,S,D,T). The mutation(s) of each CD40L domain may be the same or different.

The single-chain fusion molecule of the present invention comprises three soluble CD40L domains, namely components (i), (iii) and (v). The stability of a single-chain CD40L fusion polypeptide against aggregation is enhanced, if the second and/or third soluble CD40L domain is an N-terminally shortened domain which optionally comprises amino acid sequence mutations. Thus, preferably, both the second and the third soluble CD40L domain are N-terminally shortened domains which optionally comprise amino acid sequence mutations in the N-terminal regions, preferably within the first five amino acids of the N-terminus of the soluble CD40L domain. These mutations may comprise replacement of basic amino acids, by neutral amino acids, particularly serine or glycine. In contrast thereto, the selection of the first soluble CD40L domain is not as critical. Here, a soluble domain having a full-length N-terminal sequence may be used. It should be noted, however, that also the first soluble CD40L domain may have an N-terminally shortened and optionally mutated sequence.

In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the soluble CD40L domains (i), (iii) and (v) are soluble human CD40L domains. The first soluble CD40L domain (i) may be selected from native, shortened and/or mutated sequences. Thus, the first soluble CD40L domain (i) has an N-terminal sequence which may start at amino acid Gln121 or Ile122 of human CD40L, and wherein Gln121 may be replaced by a neutral amino acid, e.g. by Ser or Gly. The second and third soluble CD40L domains (iii) and (v) have a shortened N-terminal sequence which preferably starts with amino acid Gln120 or Ile122 of human CD40L and wherein Gln121 may be replaced by another amino acid, e.g. Ser or Gly.

Preferably, the N-terminal sequence of the soluble CD40L domains (iii) and (v) is selected from:

(a) Gln121 or Ile122 (b) (Gly/Ser) 121.

The soluble CD40L domain preferably ends with amino acid Leu261 of human CD40L. In certain embodiments, the CD40L domain may comprise internal mutations as described above.

Components (ii) and (iv) of the CD40 receptor agonist protein are peptide linker elements located between components (i) and (iii) or (iii) and (v), respectively. The flexible linker elements have a length of 3-8 amino acids, particularly a length of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 amino acids. The linker elements are preferably glycine/serine linkers, i.e. peptide linkers substantially consisting of the amino acids glycine and serine. In cases in in which the soluble cytokine domain starts with S or G (N-terminus), the linker ends before this S or G.

It should be noted that linker (ii) and linker (iv) do not need to be of the same length. In order to decrease potential immunogenicity, it may be preferred to use shorter linkers. In addition it turned out that shorter linkers lead to single chain molecules with reduced tendency to form aggregates. Whereas linkers that are substantially longer than the ones disclosed here may exhibit unfavorable aggregations properties.

If desired, the linker may comprise an asparagine residue which may form a glycosylate site Asn-Xaa-Ser. In certain embodiments, one of the linkers, e.g. linker (ii) or linker (iv) comprises a glycosylation site. In other embodiments, both linkers (iv) comprise glycosylation sites. In order to increase the solubility of the CD40L agonist proteins and/or in order to reduce the potential immunogenicity, it may be preferred that linker (ii) or linker (iv) or both comprise a glycosylation site.

Preferred linker sequences are shown in Table 2. A preferred linker is GSGSGNGS (SEQ ID NO: 2).

TABLE 2 Example Linker Sequences SEQ ID NO Sequence  2 GSGSGNGS  3 GSGSGSGS  4 GGSGSGSG  5 GGSGSG  6 GGSG  7 GGSGNGSG  8 GGNGSGSG  9 GGNGSG 10 GSGSGS 11 GSGS 12 GSG

The CD40 receptor agonist protein additionally comprises an antibody Fc fragment domain which may be located N-terminal to the first CD40L domain (i) and/or C-terminal to the third CD40L domain (v). Preferably, the antibody Fc fragment domain comprises a reduced capability to interact with Fc-gamma-R receptors in vivo. Preferably, the antibody Fc fragment domain comprises or consists of an amino acid sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 13 or 14. Example Fc fragment domains are shown in Table 3.

TABLE 3 Examples of Fc Fragment Domains SEQ ID NO Sequence 13 PAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSH EDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYSSTYRVVSVLT VLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREP QVYTLPPSREEMTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNG QPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFS CSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGK 14 PAPPVAGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHE DPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYNSTYRVVSVLTV LHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKGLPSSIEKTISKAKGQPREPQ VYTLPPSREEMTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQ PENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSC SVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGK

The total number of glycosites and the individual position of the carbohydrates in three dimensions impacts the in-vivo stability of CD40 receptor agonist proteins. Further, carbohydrate recognition depends on local density of the terminal saccharides, the branching of the carbohydrate tree and the relative position of the carbohydrates matter.

Depletion of CH2-domain carbohydrates is necessary in order to avoid Fc-receptor based crosslinking in vivo and potential CD40L-receptor superclustering-based toxicity. Further, partially degraded carbohydrates reduce the in vivo half-life of CD40 receptor agonist proteins through lectin-driven mechanisms. By reducing the total number of glycosylation sites on the molecule, the resulting compound is less accessible to these mechanisms, increasing half-life. Accordingly, in one embodiment, the overall number of glycosites on the CD40 receptor agonist proteins of the instant invention was reduced through the depletion of CH2 glycosites, resulting in CD40 receptor agonist proteins comprising N297S equivalent mutations of SEQ ID NO: 15 (PROTEIN A) (according to the EU numbering system) creating aglycosl-CH2 domains.

CH2-glycosites present on the inner surface areas normally shield the subdomain from proteases during “open Fc-conformation transits” wherein hinge-interchain disulfide bonds are reduced and the covalent interchain linkage is disrupted (FIG. 10). This enables CH2-dissociation and exposure of the inner surface area towards proteases.

CD40 receptor agonist proteins comprising an N297S equivalent mutation of SEQ ID NO: 15 (PROTEIN A) (according to the EU numbering system) creating an aglycosl-CH2 are therefore likely to be less proteolytically stable that equivalent structures with wild-type CH2 glycosylation. This would impact the compound's stability during USP/DSP/storage, where host cell proteases are present and have long-term access to the structure.

Accordingly, in certain embodiments, the CD40 receptor agonist lacks CH2 glycosites, but comprises glycosites in the linker sequences of each polypeptide chain (e.g., GSGSGNGS, SEQ ID NO: 2). In certain exemplary embodiments, the CD40 receptor agonist comprises five glycosites per polypeptide chain, for a total of ten glycosites in a dimer.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the antibody Fc fragment domain is fused via a hinge-linker element. The hinge-linker element has a length of 10-30 amino acids, particularly a length of 15-25 amino acids, e.g. 22 amino acids. The hinge-linker element preferably comprises the hinge-region sequence of an immunoglobulin, herein referred to as “Ig hinge-region”. The term “Ig hinge-region” means any polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence that shares sequence identity or similarity with a portion of a naturally occurring Ig hinge-region sequence which includes the cysteine residues at which the disulfide bonds link the two heavy chains of the immunoglobulin. Derivatives and analogues of the hinge-region can be obtained by mutations. A derivative or analogue as referred to herein is a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence that shares sequence identity or similarity with the full length sequence of the wild type (or naturally occurring protein) except that it has one or more amino acid sequence differences attributable to a deletion, insertion and/or substitution. According to the present invention, however, the term “hinge-linker” is not limited to those linkers comprising an Ig hinge-region or a derivative thereof, but any linkers long enough to allow the domains attached by the hinge-linker element to attain a biologically active confirmation.

The number of molecules with open Fc-conformation in an individual CD40 receptor agonist protein depends on the number of interchain-disulfide bonds present in the hinge region. Accordingly, in one embodiment a third cysteine was introduced into the hinge region of the CD40 receptor agonist proteins of the instant invention in order to ameliorate the effect of depleting the CH2-glycosites.

The interchain-disulfide connectivity of the hinge region stabilizing the homodimer of the hexavalent CD40 receptor agonist protein will be also affected by the free thiol groups of the CD40L subsequences (six in total per dimer). This also leads to the aforementioned open FC-conformation due to self-reduction of the hinge disulfide-bridges of the structure by the endogenous free thiols of the preparation. In consequence, single-chain CD40L-1.5 FC fusion proteins comprising six free thiols are expected to be less stable during manufacture and storage, when longtime exposure to oxygen and proteases occurs.

Therefore, to enable manufacture of a hexavalent CD40 receptor agonist, the C194 residue is preferably mutated to a different amino-acid without affecting receptor binding.

Further, the CD40 receptor agonist proteins of the invention additionally comprise mutation of the upper-hinge lysine to a glycine to reduce proteolytic processing at this site. Accordingly, in one embodiment, the CD40 receptor agonist proteins of the invention additionally comprise a mutation of the upper-hinge lysine (K223, according to the EU numbering system) to a glycine to reduce proteolytic processing at this site, thereby enhancing the overall stability of the fusion protein. Combining aforementioned introduction of a third cysteine (C225, according to the EU numbering system) with the aforementioned lysine to glycine mutation (K223G, according to the EU numbering system) within the hinge region results in an overall stabilized CD40 receptor agonist protein of the instant invention.

A particularly preferred hinge-linker element comprises or consists of the amino acid sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 16 (Table 4), which includes aforementioned cysteine C225 and the lysine to glycine mutation K223G.

The CD40 receptor agonist protein may additionally comprise an N-terminal signal peptide domain, which allows processing, e.g. extracellular secretion, in a suitable host cell. Preferably, the N-terminal signal peptide domain comprises a protease cleavage site, e.g. a signal peptidase cleavage site and thus may be removed after or during expression to obtain the mature protein. A particularly preferred N-terminal signal peptide domain comprises the amino acid sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 17 (Table 4).

Further, the CD40 receptor agonist protein may additionally comprise a C-terminal element, having a length of e.g. 1-50, preferably 10-30 amino acids which may include or connect to a recognition/purification domain, e.g. a FLAG domain, a Strep-tag or Strep-tag II domain and/or a poly-His domain. According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the fusion polypeptide comprises a Strep-tag fused to the C-terminus via a short serine linker as shown in SEQ ID NO: 18 (Table 4).

An exemplary hinge-linker element (SEQ ID NO: 16, 19-24), N-terminal signal peptide domain (SEQ ID NO: 17) and serine linker-strep tag (SEQ ID NO: 18) are shown in Table 4.

TABLE 4 Exemplary domains and linkers SEQ ID NO Sequence 16 GSGSSSSSSSSGSCDKTHTCPPC 17 METDTLLVFVLLVWVPAGNG 18 SSSSSSAWSHPQFEK 19 GSGSSSSSSGSCDKTHTCPPC 20 GSGSSSSSSSGSCDKTHTCPPC 21 GSGSSSSSGSCDKTHTCPPC 22 GSGSSSGSCDKTHTCPPC 23 GSGSSSGSCDKTHTCPPCGS 24 GSGSSSGSCDKTHTCPPCGSGS

In one embodiment of the invention, the fusion polypeptide comprises three soluble CD40L domains fused by peptide linker elements of SEQ ID NO: 2. The first soluble CD40L domain (i) consists of amino acids 121-261 of human CD40L according to SEQ ID NO: 1 and the soluble CD40L domains (iii) and (v) consist of amino acids 121-261 of human CD40L according to SEQ ID NO: 1.

Additionally, the fusion polypeptide comprises an antibody Fc fragment domain according to SEQ ID NO: 13 that is fused C-terminally to the soluble CD40L domain (v) via a hinge-linker according to SEQ ID NO: 16. The inventors surprisingly found that this particular fusion polypeptide provides improved biological activity and is particularly stable. The amino acid sequence of an exemplary embodiment of a CD40 receptor agonist protein of the invention is set forth in SEQ ID NO: 27.

Further, the fusion polypeptide may comprise an N-terminal signal peptide domain e.g. according to SEQ ID NO: 17. A specific example of a CD40 receptor agonist protein of the invention is shown in SEQ ID NO: 25.

According to another preferred embodiment, the fusion polypeptide may additionally comprise a C-terminal Strep-tag that is fused to the polypeptide of the invention via a short serine linker as shown in SEQ ID NO: 18. According to this aspect of the invention, the Fc fragment preferably consists of the amino acid sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 13 or 14. Further, the Fc fragment may consist of a shorter Fc fragment, for example including amino acids 1-217 of SEQ ID NO: 13. Particularly preferred examples of fusion polypeptides comprising a C-terminal Strep-tag are shown in SEQ ID NO: 15 (PROTEIN A).

The exemplary CD40 receptor agonist proteins as shown in SEQ ID NOs: 15, 25, and 26, each comprises an N-terminal signal peptide domain. The signal peptide domain includes amino acids 1-20. In each case, the mature protein starts with amino acid 21. Mature exemplary CD40 receptor agonist proteins (without a signal peptide) of the instant invention are set forth in SEQ ID NO: 27-30, 32, and 34. Exemplary CD40 receptor agonist proteins described above are shown in Table 5.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the single-chain CD40L fusion polypeptide domain comprises three soluble CD40L domains fused by peptide linker elements of SEQ ID NO: 2. The soluble CD40L domains (i), (iii) and (v) each consists of amino acids 121-261 of human CD40L according to SEQ ID NO: 1 with C194S mutation This single-chain-CD40L polypeptide comprising aforementioned CD40L 121-261 C194S muteins is shown in SEQ ID: 36, which is well suited to generate fusion proteins at either N- or C-terminal end with enhanced stability compared to wild type. In a preferred embodiment, an antibody Fc fragment domain according to SEQ ID NO: 13 is fused C-terminally to the soluble CD40L domain (v) of SEQ ID: 36 via a hinge linker according to SEQ ID NO: 16.

The CD40 receptor agonist as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 27 has a reduced total number of glycosylation sites (the N297S mutation in the CH2 region providing an aglycosylated CH2 domain), an increased number of inter-chain disulfide bonds in the hinge region, and the mutation of an upper-hinge lysine to a glycine. These alterations provide a decrease in potential degradation and CD40L receptor superclustering (along with concomitant toxicity). In some embodiments, the N-terminal glutamine is modified to pyroglutamate (Liu et al. 2011, J. Biol. Chem. 286:11211-11217).

TABLE 5 Exemplary CD40 receptor agonist Proteins SEQ ID NO Sequence 25 METDTLLVFVLLVWVPAGNGQIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLV PROTEIN A TLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLCLKSPGRFERILL without StrepTag RAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLL KLGSGSGNGSQIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTV KRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLCLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAK PCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSGNGS QIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYA QVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLCLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLG GVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSSSSSSSSGSCDKTH TCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNW YVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYSSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPA PIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSREEMTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWES NGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHY TQKSLSLSPGK 15 METDTLLVFVLLVWVPAGNGQIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLV PROTEIN A TLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLCLKSPGRFERILL RAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLL KLGSGSGNGSQIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTV KRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLCLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAK PCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSGNGS QIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYA QVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLCLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLG GVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSSSSSSSSGSCDKTH TCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNW YVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYSSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPA PIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSREEMTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWES NGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHY TQKSLSLSPGSSSSSSAWSHPQFEK 26 METDTLLVFVLLVWVPAGNGQIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLV CD40L-wt  TLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLCLKSPGRFERILL SEQ14 (FC) RAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLL KLGSGSGNGSQIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTV KRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLCLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAK PCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSGNGS QIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYA QVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLCLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLG GVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSSSSSSSSGSCDKTH TCPPCPAPPVAGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWY VDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYNSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKGLPSS IEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSREEMTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESN GQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYT QKSLSLSPGK 27 QIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYA CD40L-wt  QVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLCLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLG SEQ13(FC) GVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSGNGSQIAAHVISEA without SP SSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREA without StrepTag SSQAPFIASLCLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGAS VFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSGNGSQIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQW AEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASL CLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQ VSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSSSSSSSSGSCDKTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFP PKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYS STYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYT LPPSREEMTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGS FFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGK 28 QIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYA QVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLCLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLG GVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSGNGSQIAAHVISEA SSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREA SSQAPFIASLCLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGAS VFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSGNGSQIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQW AEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASL CLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQ VSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSSSSSSSSGSCDKTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFP PKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYS STYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYT LPPSREEMTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGS FFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGSSSSSSAWSH PQFEK 29 QIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYA QVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLCLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLG GVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSGNGSQIAAHVISEA SSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREA SSQAPFIASLCLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGAS VFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSGNGSQIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQW AEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASL CLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQ VSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSSSSSSSSGSCDKTHTCPPCPAPPVAGPSVFLFPP KPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYNS TYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKGLPSSIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTL PPSREEMTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSF FLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGK 30 QIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYA QVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLCLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLG GVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSGNGSQIAAHVISEA SSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREA SSQAPFIASLCLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGAS VFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSGNGSQIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQW AEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASL CLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQ VSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSSSSSSSSGSCDKTHTCPPCPAPPVAGPSVFLFPP KPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYNS TYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKGLPSSIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTL PPSREEMTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSF FLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGSSSSSSAWSHP QFEK 31 METDTLLVFVLLVWVPAGNGQIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLV PROTEIN B TLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLSLKSPGRFERILL RAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLL KLGSGSGNGSQIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTV KRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLSLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAK PCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSGNGS QIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYA QVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLSLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLG GVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSSSSSSSSGSCDKTH TCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNW YVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYSSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPA PIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSREEMTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWES NGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHY TQKSLSLSPGSSSSSSAWSHPQFEK 32 QIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYA PROTEIN B QVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLSLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLG without SP GVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSGNGSQIAAHVISEA SSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREA SSQAPFIASLSLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGAS VFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSGNGSQIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQW AEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASL SLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQ VSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSSSSSSSSGSCDKTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFP PKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYS STYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYT LPPSREEMTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGS FFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGSSSSSSAWSH PQFEK 33 METDTLLVFVLLVWVPAGNGQIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLV PROTEIN B TLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLSLKSPGRFERILL without StrepTag RAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLL KLGSGSGNGSQIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTV KRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLSLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAK PCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSGNGS QIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYA QVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLSLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLG GVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSSSSSSSSGSCDKTH TCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNW YVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYSSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPA PIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSREEMTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWES NGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHY TQKSLSLSPGK 34 QIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYA PROTEIN B QVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLSLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLG without SP GVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSGNGSQIAAHVISEA without StrepTag SSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREA SSQAPFIASLSLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGAS VFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSGNGSQIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQW AEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASL SLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQ VSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSSSSSSSSGSCDKTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFP PKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYS STYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYT LPPSREEMTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGS FFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGK 35 METDTLLVFVLLVWVPAGNGQIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLV PROTEIN C TLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLALKSPGRFERILL RAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLL KLGSGSGNGSQIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTV KRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLALKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAK PCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSGNGS QIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYA QVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLALKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLG GVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSSSSSSSSGSCDKTH TCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNW YVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYSSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPA PIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSREEMTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWES NGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHY TQKSLSLSPGSSSSSSAWSHPQFEK 36 QIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYA QVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLSLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLG GVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSGNGSQIAAHVISEA SSKTTSVLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREA SSQAPFIASLSLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGAS VFVNVTDPSQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSGNGSQIAAHVISEASSKTTSVLQW AEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIYAQVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASL SLKSPGRFERILLRAANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGASVFVNVTDPSQ VSHGTGFTSFGLLKL

A further aspect of the present invention relates to a nucleic acid molecule encoding a CD40 receptor agonist protein as described herein. The nucleic acid molecule may be a DNA molecule, e.g. a double-stranded or single-stranded DNA molecule, or an RNA molecule. The nucleic acid molecule may encode the CD40 receptor agonist protein or a precursor thereof, e.g. a pro- or pre-proform of the CD40 receptor agonist protein which may comprise a signal sequence or other heterologous amino acid portions for secretion or purification which are preferably located at the N- and/or C-terminus of the CD40 receptor agonist protein. The heterologous amino acid portions may be linked to the first and/or second domain via a protease cleavage site, e.g. a Factor X3, thrombin or IgA protease cleavage site. A specific example of a nucleic acid sequence of the invention is shown in Table 6 as SEQ ID NO: 37. This nucleic acid molecule encodes the fusion polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 25.

TABLE 6 Nucleic Acid Sequence of Exemplary CD40 receptor agonist Protein SEQ ID NO Sequence 37 AAGCTTTAGGGATAACAGGGTAATAGCCGCCACCATGGAGACTG ACACCCTGCTGGTGTTCGTGCTGCTGGTCTGGGTGCCTGCAGGA AATGGACAGATCGCAGCTCATGTGATAAGTGAGGCAAGCTCGAA GACGACTAGCGTATTGCAGTGGGCAGAGAAGGGGTACTACACCA TGTCCAACAACCTCGTCACGCTGGAGAACGGCAAACAGCTCACC GTCAAGCGACAGGGCCTGTACTACATCTACGCACAAGTCACCTT CTGTTCTAACCGAGAGGCTTCCAGTCAAGCACCCTTCATTGCTT CCCTGTGCCTGAAATCCCCTGGTCGATTCGAGAGGATACTGCTC AGGGCAGCTAACACTCACTCCAGTGCTAAGCCTTGCGGTCAGCA GAGTATCCACCTCGGCGGCGTATTCGAGCTGCAACCAGGAGCTT CCGTCTTTGTGAACGTGACTGACCCTTCTCAAGTCTCTCACGGA ACAGGATTCACCTCTTTCGGGCTCCTAAAGCTGGGTTCCGGAAG CGGTAATGGTAGTCAAATCGCTGCCCATGTAATTTCCGAGGCTT CGTCAAAGACTACGTCTGTTCTACAATGGGCCGAGAAAGGCTAC TATACCATGTCAAATAATCTCGTCACTCTTGAGAACGGGAAGCA GCTTACCGTTAAACGTCAGGGACTTTACTACATTTATGCCCAAG TCACTTTCTGCTCAAATCGAGAGGCAAGCTCCCAAGCACCGTTC ATAGCATCACTCTGCCTCAAGTCCCCTGGAAGGTTTGAACGAAT ACTACTTAGGGCCGCTAATACACATTCGAGTGCAAAGCCTTGCG GACAGCAAAGCATTCATTTAGGTGGAGTCTTCGAGCTTCAACCA GGAGCCTCTGTATTCGTCAACGTAACGGACCCATCGCAAGTATC CCACGGCACTGGTTTCACCTCATTCGGTTTGCTGAAGTTAGGAA GCGGCAGTGGAAACGGTTCCCAAATAGCTGCCCATGTCATCTCG GAAGCCTCAAGCAAGACGACAAGTGTCTTGCAATGGGCCGAAAA GGGTTATTATACTATGTCTAATAACCTAGTGACCCTAGAGAACG GTAAACAACTTACTGTTAAGCGCCAGGGACTTTATTATATATAT GCTCAGGTAACATTCTGCTCGAATCGGGAAGCATCTTCACAGGC TCCTTTTATCGCTAGTTTATGTCTGAAGAGCCCCGGACGATTTG AGAGGATATTGCTTAGAGCCGCGAATACACACAGTTCAGCCAAA CCTTGTGGACAACAGAGTATTCACTTAGGTGGCGTGTTTGAATT ACAACCAGGGGCATCAGTGTTCGTAAACGTAACAGATCCCAGTC AGGTCTCGCACGGGACGGGATTTACTTCCTTTGGTTTGCTGAAA TTAGGCTCGGGATCCTCGAGTTCATCGTCCTCATCCGGCTCATG TGATAAGACCCACACCTGCCCTCCCTGTCCTGCCCCTGAGCTGC TGGGCGGACCTTCTGTGTTCCTGTTCCCCCCCAAGCCTAAGGAC ACCCTGATGATCTCCAGGACCCCTGAGGTGACCTGTGTGGTGGT GGACGTGTCTCACGAAGATCCCGAGGTGAAGTTCAACTGGTACG TGGACGGCGTGGAGGTCCACAACGCCAAGACCAAGCCTAGGGAG GAGCAGTACAGCTCCACCTACCGGGTGGTGTCTGTGCTGACCGT GCTGCACCAGGATTGGCTGAACGGAAAGGAGTATAAGTGTAAGG TCTCCAACAAGGCCCTGCCTGCCCCCATCGAGAAAACCATCTCC AAGGCCAAGGGCCAGCCTCGGGAGCCTCAGGTGTACACCCTGCC TCCTAGCAGGGAGGAGATGACCAAGAACCAGGTGTCCCTGACCT GTCTGGTGAAGGGCTTCTACCCTTCCGATATCGCCGTGGAGTGG GAGTCTAATGGCCAGCCCGAGAACAACTACAAGACCACCCCTCC TGTGCTGGACTCTGACGGCTCCTTCTTCCTGTACTCCAAGCTGA CCGTGGACAAGTCCAGATGGCAGCAGGGCAACGTGTTCTCCTGC TCCGTGATGCACGAGGCCCTGCACAATCACTACACCCAGAAGTC CCTGTCTCTGAGTCCGGGCAAATAATAGGCGCGCC

The nucleic acid molecule may be operatively linked to an expression control sequence, e.g. an expression control sequence which allows expression of the nucleic acid molecule in a desired host cell. The nucleic acid molecule may be located on a vector, e.g. a plasmid, a bacteriophage, a viral vector, a chromosomal integration vector, etc. Examples of suitable expression control sequences and vectors are described for example by Sambrook et al. (1989) Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Press, and Ausubel et al. (1989), Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, John Wiley & Sons or more recent editions thereof.

Various expression vector/host cell systems may be used to express the nucleic acid sequences encoding the CD40 receptor agonist proteins of the present invention. Suitable host cells include, but are not limited to, prokaryotic cells such as bacteria, e.g. E. coli, eukaryotic host cells such as yeast cells, insect cells, plant cells or animal cells, preferably mammalian cells and, more preferably, human cells. Further, the invention relates to a non-human organism transformed or transfected with a nucleic acid molecule as described above. Such transgenic organisms may be generated by known methods of genetic transfer including homologous recombination.

A further aspect of the present invention relates to a pharmaceutical or diagnostic composition comprising as the active agent at least one CD40 receptor agonist protein, a respective nucleic acid encoding therefore, or a transformed or transfected cell, all as described herein.

The term “CD40L-associated disease or disorder” as used herein is any disease or disorder which may be ameliorated by addition of a CD40 receptor agonist. At least one CD40 receptor agonist protein, respective nucleic acid encoding therefore, or transformed or transfected cell, all as described herein may be used in therapy, e.g., in the prophylaxis and/or treatment of disorders caused by, associated with and/or accompanied by dysfunction of CD40L, particularly proliferative disorders, such as tumors, e.g. solid or lymphatic tumors; infectious diseases; inflammatory diseases; metabolic diseases; autoimmune disorders, e.g. rheumatoid and/or arthritic diseases; degenerative diseases, e.g. neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis; apoptosis-associated diseases or transplant rejections.

The term “dysfunction of CD40L” as used herein is to be understood as any function or expression of CD40L that deviates from the normal function or expression of CD40L, e.g., overexpression of the CD40L gene or protein, reduced or abolished expression of the CD40L gene or protein compared to the normal physiological expression level of CD40L, increased activity of CD40L, reduced or abolished activity of CD40L, increased binding of CD40L to any binding partners, e.g., to a receptor, particularly a CD40L receptor or another cytokine molecule, reduced or abolished binding to any binding partner, e.g. to a receptor, particularly a CD40L receptor or another cytokine molecule, compared to the normal physiological activity or binding of CD40L.

In various embodiments, a method is provided for diagnosing and/or treating a human subject suffering from a disorder which can be diagnosed and/or treated by targeting CD40L receptors comprising administering to the human subject a CD40 receptor agonist protein disclosed herein such that the effect on the activity of the target, or targets, in the human subject is agonistic, one or more symptoms is alleviated, and/or treatment is achieved. The CD40 receptor agonist proteins provided herein can be used to diagnose and/or treat humans suffering from primary and metastatic cancers, including carcinomas of breast, colon, rectum, lung (e.g., small cell lung cancer “SCLC” and non-small cell lung cancer “NSCLC”), oropharynx, hypopharynx, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, liver, gallbladder and bile ducts, small intestine, urinary tract (including kidney, bladder and urothelium), female genital tract (including cervix, uterus, and ovaries as well as choriocarcinoma and gestational trophoblastic disease), male genital tract (including prostate, seminal vesicles, testes and germ cell tumors), endocrine glands (including the thyroid, adrenal, and pituitary glands), and skin, as well as hemangiomas, melanomas, sarcomas (including those arising from bone and soft tissues as well as Kaposi's sarcoma), tumors of the brain, nerves, eyes, and meninges (including astrocytomas, gliomas, glioblastomas, retinoblastomas, neuromas, neuroblastomas, Schwannomas, and meningiomas), tumors arising from hematopoietic malignancies, acute leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), B cell lymphoma, Burkitt's lymphoma, chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), hairy cell leukemia, Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, DLBCL, follicular lymphomas, hematopoietic malignancies, Kaposi's sarcoma, malignant lymphoma, malignant histiocytosis, malignant melanoma, multiple myeloma, paraneoplastic syndrome/hypercalcemia of malignancy, or solid tumors.

A pharmaceutical composition comprising a CD40 receptor agonist protein disclosed herein and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier is provided. In some embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition comprises at least one additional therapeutic agent for treating a disorder. For example, the additional agent may be a therapeutic agent, a chemotherapeutic agent; an imaging agent, a cytotoxic agent, an angiogenesis inhibitor, a kinase inhibitor (including but not limited to a KDR and a TIE-2 inhibitor), a co-stimulation molecule modulator or an immune checkpoint inhibitor (including but not limited to anti-B7.1, anti-B7.2, anti-B7.3, anti-B7.4, anti-CD28, anti-B7RP1, CTLA4-Ig, anti-CTLA-4, anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1, anti-PD-L2, anti-ICOS, anti-LAG-3, anti-Tim3, anti-VISTA, anti-HVEM, anti-BTLA, LIGHT fusion protein, anti-CD137, anti-CD137L, anti-OX40, anti-OX40L, anti-CD70, anti-CD27, anti-GAL9, anti-A2AR, anti-KIR, anti-IDO-1, anti-CD20), a dendritic cell/antigen-presenting cell modulator (including but not limited to anti-CD40 antibody, anti-CD40 L, anti-DC-SIGN, anti-Dectin-1, anti-CD301, anti-CD303, anti-CD123, anti-CD207, anti-DNGR1, anti-CD205, anti-DCIR, anti-CD206, anti-ILT7), a modulator for Toll-like receptors (including but not limited to anti-TLR-1, anti-TLR-2, anti-TLR-3, anti-TLR-4, anti-TLR-4, anti-TLR-5, anti-TLR-6, anti-TLR-7, anti-TLR-8, anti-TLR-9), an adhesion molecule blocker (including but not limited to an anti-LFA-1 antibody, an anti-E/L selectin antibody, a small molecule inhibitor), an anti-cytokine antibody or functional fragment thereof (including but not limited to an anti-IL-18, an anti-TNF, or an anti-IL-6/cytokine receptor antibody), a bispecific redirected T cell or NK cell cytotoxicity (including but not limited to a BiTE®), a chimeric T cell receptor (CAR-T) based therapy, a T cell receptor (TCR)-based therapy, a therapeutic cancer vaccine, methotrexate, cyclosporin, rapamycin, FK506, a detectable label or reporter, a TNF antagonist, an anti-rheumatic, a muscle relaxant, a narcotic, a non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), an analgesic, an anesthetic, a sedative, a local anesthetic, a neuromuscular blocker, an antimicrobial, an antipsoriatic, a corticosteriod, an anabolic steroid, an erythropoietin, an immunization, an immunoglobulin, an immunosuppressive, a growth hormone, a hormone replacement drug, a radiopharmaceutical, an antidepressant, an antipsychotic, a stimulant, an asthma medication, a beta agonist, an inhaled steroid, an epinephrine or analog, a cytokine, or a cytokine antagonist.

In an embodiment, a method of treating a cancer or in the prevention or inhibition of metastases from the tumors described herein, the CD40 receptor agonist protein(s) can be used alone or in combination with one or more additional agents, e.g., a chemotherapeutic, radiotherapy, or biological agent. In some embodiments, the agent can include the following: 13-cis-Retinoic Acid; 2-CdA; 2-Chlorodeoxyadenosine; 5-Azacitidine; 5-Fluorouracil; 5-FU; 6-Mercaptopurine; 6-MP; 6-TG; 6-Thioguanine; Abraxane; Accutane®; Actinomycin-D; Adriamycin®; Adrucil®; Afinitor®; Agrylin®; Ala-Cort®; Aldesleukin; Alemtuzumab; ALIMTA; Alitretinoin; Alkaban-AQ®; Alkeran®; All-transretinoic Acid; Alpha Interferon; Altretamine; Amethopterin; Amifostine; Aminoglutethimide; Anagrelide; Anandron®; Anastrozole; Arabinosylcytosine; Ara-C Aranesp®; Aredia®; Arimidex®; Aromasin®; Arranon®; Arsenic Trioxide; Arzerra™; Asparaginase; ATRA; Avastin®; Azacitidine; BCG; BCNU; Bendamustine; Bevacizumab; Bexarotene; BEXXAR®; Bicalutamide; BiCNU; Blenoxane®; Bleomycin; Bortezomib; Busulfan; Busulfex®; C225; Calcium Leucovorin; Campath®; Camptosar®; Camptothecin-11; Capecitabine Carac™; Carboplatin; Carmustine; Carmustine Wafer; Casodex®; CC-5013; CCI-779; CCNU; CDDP; CeeNU; Cerubidine®; Cetuximab; Chlorambucil; Cisplatin; Citrovorum Factor; Cladribine; Cortisone; Cosmegen®; CPT-11; Cyclophosphamide; Cytadren®; Cytarabine; Cytarabine Liposomal; Cytosar-U®; Cytoxan®; Dacarbazine; Dacogen; Dactinomycin; Darbepoetin Alfa; Dasatinib; Daunomycin; Daunorubicin; Daunorubicin Hydrochloride; Daunorubicin Liposomal; DaunoXome®; Decadron; Decitabine; Delta-Cortef®; Deltasone®; Denileukin; Diftitox; DepoCyt™; Dexamethasone; Dexamethasone Acetate; Dexamethasone Sodium Phosphate; Dexasone; Dexrazoxane; DHAD; DIC; Diodex; Docetaxel; Doxil®; Doxorubicin; Doxorubicin Liposomal; Droxia™; DTIC; DTIC-Dome®; Duralone®; Duvelisib; Efudex®; Eligard™; Ellence™; Eloxatin™; Elspar®; Emcyt®; Epirubicin; Epoetin Alfa; Erbitux; Erlotinib; Erwinia L-asparaginase; Estramustine; Ethyol Etopophos®; Etoposide; Etoposide Phosphate; Eulexin®; Everolimus; Evista®; Exemestane; Fareston®; Faslodex®; Femara®; Filgrastim; Floxuridine; Fludara®; Fludarabine; Fluoroplex®; Fluorouracil; Fluorouracil (cream); Fluoxymesterone; Flutamide; Folinic Acid; FUDR®; Fulvestrant; Gefitinib; Gemcitabine; Gemtuzumab ozogamicin; Gemzar; Gleevec™ Gliadel® Wafer; GM-CSF; Goserelin; Granulocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor (G-CSF); Granulocyte Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor (G-MCSF); Halotestin®; Herceptin®; Hexadrol; Hexalen®; Hexamethylmelamine; HMM; Hycamtin®; Hydrea®; Hydrocort Acetate®; Hydrocortisone; Hydrocortisone Sodium Phosphate; Hydrocortisone Sodium Succinate; Hydrocortone Phosphate; Hydroxyurea; Ibrutinib; Ibritumomab; Ibritumomab Tiuxetan; Idamycin®; Idarubicin Ifex®; Interferon-alpha; Interferon-alpha-2b (PEG Conjugate); Ifosfamide; Interleukin-11 (IL-11); Interleukin-2 (IL-2); Imatinib mesylate; Imidazole Carboxamide; Intron A®; ipilimumab, Iressa®; Irinotecan; Isotretinoin; Ixabepilone; Ixempra™; KADCYCLA®; Kidrolase (t) Lanacort®; Lapatinib; L-asparaginase; LCR; Lenalidomide; Letrozole; Leucovorin; Leukeran; Leukine™; Leuprolide; Leurocristine; Leustatin™; Lirilumab; Liposomal Ara-C; Liquid Pred®; Lomustine; L-PAM; L-Sarcolysin; Lupron®; Lupron Depot®; Matulane®; Maxidex; Mechlorethamine; Mechlorethamine Hydrochloride; Medralone®; Medrol®; Megace®; Megestrol; Megestrol Acetate; MEK inhibitors; Melphalan; Mercaptopurine; Mesna; Mesnex™; Methotrexate; Methotrexate Sodium; Methylprednisolone; Meticorten®; Mitomycin; Mitomycin-C; Mitoxantrone M-Prednisol®; MTC; MTX; Mustargen®; Mustine; Mutamycin®; Myleran®; Mylocel™; Mylotarg®; Navitoclax; Navelbine®; Nelarabine; Neosar®; Neulasta™; Neumega®; Neupogen®; Nexavar®; Nilandron®; Nilotinib; Nilutamide; Nipent®; Nitrogen Mustard Novaldex®; Nivolumab; Novantrone®; Nplate; Octreotide; Octreotide acetate; Ofatumumab; Oncospar®; Oncovin®; Ontak®; Onxal™; Oprelvekin; Orapred®; Orasone®; Oxaliplatin; Paclitaxel; Paclitaxel Protein-bound; Pamidronate; Panitumumab; Panretin®; Paraplatin®; Pazopanib; Pediapred®; PEG Interferon; Pegaspargase; Pegfilgrastim; PEG-INTRON™; PEG-L-asparaginase; PEMETREXED; Pembrolizumab; Pentostatin; Pertuzumab; Phenylalanine Mustard; Pidilizumab; Platinol®; Platinol-AQ®; Prednisolone; Prednisone; Prelone®; Procarbazine; PROCRIT®; Proleukin®; Prolifeprospan 20 with Carmustine Implant; Purinethol®; BRAF inhibitors; Raloxifene; Revlimid®; Rheumatrex®; Rituxan®; Rituximab; Roferon-A®; Romiplostim; Rubex®; Rubidomycin hydrochloride; Sandostatin®; Sandostatin LAR®; Sargramostim; Solu-Cortef®; Solu-Medrol®; Sorafenib; SPRYCEL™; STI-571; STIVAGRA™, Streptozocin; SU11248; Sunitinib; Sutent®; Tamoxifen Tarceva®; Targretin®; Tasigna®; Taxol®; Taxotere®; Temodar®; Temozolomide Temsirolimus; Teniposide; TESPA; Thalidomide; Thalomid®; TheraCys®; Thioguanine; Thioguanine Tabloid®; Thiophosphoamide; Thioplex®; Thiotepa; TICE®; Toposar®; Topotecan; Toremifene; Torisel®; Tositumomab; Trastuzumab; Treanda®; Tremelimumab; Tretinoin; Trexall™; Trisenox®; TSPA; TYKERB®; Urelumab; VCR; Vectibix™; Velban®; Velcade®; Venetoclax; VePesid®; Vesanoid®; Viadur™; Vidaza®; Vinblastine; Vinblastine Sulfate; Vincasar Pfs®; Vincristine; Vinorelbine; Vinorelbine tartrate; VLB; VM-26; Vorinostat; Votrient; VP-16; Vumon®; Xeloda®; Zanosar®; Zevalin™; Zinecard®; Zoladex®; Zoledronic acid; Zolinza; or Zometa®, and/or any other agent not specifically listed here that target similar pathways.

When two or more substances or principles are to be used as part of a combined treatment regimen, they can be administered via the same route of administration or via different routes of administration, at essentially the same time or at different times (e.g. essentially simultaneously, consecutively, or according to an alternating regime). When the substances or principles are to be administered simultaneously via the same route of administration, they may be administered as different pharmaceutical formulations or compositions or part of a combined pharmaceutical formulation or composition, as will be clear to the skilled person.

Also, when two or more active substances or principles are to be used as part of a combined treatment regimen, each of the substances or principles may be administered in the same amount and according to the same regimen as used when the compound or principle is used on its own, and such combined use may or may not lead to a synergistic effect. However, when the combined use of the two or more active substances or principles leads to a synergistic effect, it may also be possible to reduce the amount of one, more than one, or all of the substances or principles to be administered, while still achieving the desired therapeutic action. This may, e.g., be useful for avoiding, limiting or reducing any unwanted side-effects that are associated with the use of one or more of the substances or principles when they are used in their usual amounts, while still obtaining the desired pharmaceutical or therapeutic effect.

The effectiveness of the treatment regimen used according to the invention may be determined and/or followed in any manner known per se for the disease or disorder involved, as will be clear to the clinician. The clinician will also be able, where appropriate and on a case-by-case basis, to change or modify a particular treatment regimen, so as to achieve the desired therapeutic effect, to avoid, limit or reduce unwanted side-effects, and/or to achieve an appropriate balance between achieving the desired therapeutic effect on the one hand and avoiding, limiting or reducing undesired side effects on the other hand.

Generally, the treatment regimen will be followed until the desired therapeutic effect is achieved and/or for as long as the desired therapeutic effect is to be maintained. Again, this can be determined by the clinician.

In various embodiments, pharmaceutical compositions comprising one or more CD40 receptor agonist proteins, either alone or in combination with prophylactic agents, therapeutic agents, and/or pharmaceutically acceptable carriers are provided herein. In various embodiments, non-limiting examples of the uses of the pharmaceutical compositions disclosed herein include diagnosing, detecting, and/or monitoring a disorder, preventing, treating, managing, and/or ameliorating a disorder or one or more symptoms thereof, and/or in research. The formulation of pharmaceutical compositions, either alone or in combination with prophylactic agents, therapeutic agents, and/or pharmaceutically acceptable carriers, are known to one skilled in the art (US Patent Publication No. 20090311253 A1).

In various embodiments, a pharmaceutical formulation can comprise one or more amino acid, one or more polysaccharide and/or polysorbate, and a CD40 receptor agonist protein present at a concentration of between about 0.1 and 100 mg/ml, inclusive of endpoints (e.g., 0.1-10, 1-10, 0.01-50, 1-50, 1-100, 10-100, 25-100, 25-50, or 50-100 mg/ml), where the formulation is at a pH between about 5.0 and 7.0, inclusive of endpoints (e.g., a pH of about 5.0-6.0, 5.5-6.0, 5.0-6.5, 5.5-6.5, or 6.0-7.0). In an embodiment, at least one amino acid in the formulation is histidine and is present at a concentration of about 10-20 mM, 10-15 mM, 15-20 mM, or about 15 mM. In an embodiment, at least one polysaccharide in the formulation is sucrose and is present at a concentration of about 0-8.0% weight/volume (w/v). In an embodiment, the polysorbate in the formulation is polysorbate 80 and is at a concentration of about 0-0.06% w/v. In an embodiment, at least one amino acid in the formulation is arginine and is present at a concentration of about 0-1.5% w/v (e.g., 0.5-1.5, 1.0-1.5, or 0.5-1.0 w/v). In an embodiment, the CD40 receptor agonist protein is present in the formulation at a concentration of about 0.1-100 mg/ml, (e.g., about 1-100 mg/ml, or about 1-15 mg/ml, or about 1-7.5 mg/ml, or about 2.5-7.5 mg/ml, or about 5-7.5 mg/ml, or about 25-100 mg/ml, or about 20-60 mg/ml, or about 25-50 mg/ml, or about 25 mg/ml, or about 50 mg/ml, or about 0.1-60 mg/ml, or about 0.1-25 mg/ml, or about 1.0-60 mg/ml, or about 0.5-60 mg/ml, or about 0.1-2.0 mg/ml, or about 0.5-2.0 mg/ml, or about 1-5 mg/ml, or about 1-7.5 mg/ml, or about 1-15 mg/ml, or about 0.5 mg/ml, or about 1.0 mg/m).

As used herein, the phrase “effective amount” means an amount of CD40L agonist protein that results in a detectable improvement (e.g., at least about 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, or more from baseline) in one or more parameters associated with a dysfunction of CD40L or with a CD40L-associated disease or disorder.

In various embodiments, the pharmaceutical formulation is an aqueous formulation, a lyophilized formulation, or a lyophilized and rehydrated formulation. In an embodiment, the hydrating solution is dextrose and/or saline (e.g., dextrose at a concentration of about 5% w/v and/or the saline at a concentration of about 0.9% w/v). In an embodiment, the pharmaceutical formulation comprises about 15 mM histidine, about 0.03% (w/v) polysorbate 80, about 4% (w/v) sucrose, and about 0.1-25 mg/ml of the CD40 receptor agonist protein, or about 1-15 mg/ml of CD40 receptor agonist protein, and is at a pH of about 6. In an embodiment, the formulation further comprises at least one additional agent.

In various embodiments, a formulation is used containing about 25 mg/ml CD40 receptor agonist protein, about 15 mM histidine, 0.03% polysorbate 80 (weight/volume, w/v), 4.0% sucrose (w/v), and a pH of about 6.0. In some embodiments, the formulation does not comprise arginine. In some embodiments, the formulation exhibits unexpectedly improved freeze-thaw stability, liquid formulation stability, and/or lyophilized formulation stability, as compared to other formulations comprising other components or concentrations.

Methods of administering a therapeutic agent provided herein include, but are not limited to, oral administration, parenteral administration (e.g., intradermal, intramuscular, intraperitoneal, intravenous and subcutaneous), epidural administration, intratumoral administration, mucosal administration (e.g., intranasal and oral routes) and pulmonary administration (e.g., aerosolized compounds administered with an inhaler or nebulizer). The formulation of pharmaceutical compositions for specific routes of administration, and the materials and techniques necessary for the various methods of administration are available and known to one skilled in the art (US Patent Publication No. 20090311253 A1).

In various embodiments, dosage regimens may be adjusted to provide for an optimum desired response (e.g., a therapeutic or prophylactic response). For example, a single bolus may be administered, several divided doses may be administered over time or the dose may be proportionally reduced or increased as indicated by the exigencies of the therapeutic situation. In some embodiments, parenteral compositions are formulated in dosage unit form for ease of administration and uniformity of dosage. The term “dosage unit form” refers to physically discrete units suited as unitary dosages for the mammalian subjects to be treated; each unit containing a predetermined quantity of active compound calculated to produce the desired therapeutic effect in association with the required pharmaceutical carrier.

An exemplary, non-limiting range for a therapeutically or prophylactically effective amount of a CD40 receptor agonist protein provided herein is about 0.1-100 mg/kg, (e.g., about 0.1-0.5, 0.1-1, 0.1-10, 0.1-20, 0.1-50, 0.1-75, 1-10, 1-15, 1-7.5, 1.25-15, 1.25-7.5, 2.5-7.5, 2.5-15, 5-15, 5-7.5, 1-20, 1-50, 7-75, 1-100, 5-10, 5-15, 5-20, 5-25, 5-50, 5-75, 10-20, 10-50, 10-75, or 10-100 mg/kg, or any concentration in between). In some embodiments, the CD40 receptor agonist protein is present in a pharmaceutical composition at a therapeutically effective concentration, e.g., a concentration of about 0.1-100 mg/ml (e.g., about 0.1-0.5, 0.1-1, 0.1-10, 0.1-20, 0.1-50, 0.1-75, 1-10, 1-20, 1-50, 1-75, 1-100, 5-10, 5-15, 5-20, 5-25, 5-50, 5-75, 10-20, 10-50, 10-75, or 10-100 mg/ml, or any concentration in between). Note that dosage values may vary with the type and/or severity of the condition to be alleviated. It is to be further understood that for any particular subject, specific dosage regimens may be adjusted over time according to the individual need and/or the professional judgment of the person administering or supervising the administration of the compositions, and that dosage ranges set forth herein are exemplary only and are not intended to limit the scope or practice of the claimed composition.

EXAMPLES Example 1: Manufacture of a CD40 Receptor Agonist Protein 1.1 Polypeptide Structure

A) Amino acids Met1-Gly20

-   -   Ig-Kappa-signal peptide, assumed signal peptidase cleavage site         after amino acid Gly 20.         B) Amino acids Gln21-Leu161     -   First soluble cytokine domain of the human CD40L ligand (CD40L,         amino acid 121-261 of SEQ ID NO: 1).         C) Amino acids Gly162-Ser 169     -   First peptide linker element of SEQ ID NO: 2.         D) Amino acids Gln170-Leu310     -   Second soluble cytokine domain of the human CD40L ligand (CD40L,         amino acids 121-261 of SEQ ID NO: 1).         E) Amino acids Gly311-Ser318.     -   Second peptide linker element of SEQ ID NO: 2.         F) Amino acids Gln319-Leu459     -   Third soluble cytokine domain of the human CD40L ligand (CD40L,         amino acids 121-261 of SEQ ID NO: 1).         G) Amino acids Gly460-Cys482     -   Hinge-linker element of SEQ ID NO: 16.         H) Amino acids Pro483-Lys700

Antibody Fc fragment domain of SEQ ID NO: 13.

The above CD40 receptor agonist protein is shown in SEQ ID NO: 25.

The indicated linkers may be replaced by other preferred linkers, e.g. as shown in SEQ ID NOs: 3-12.

The indicated Hinge-linker element may be replaced by other preferred Hinge-linkers, e.g. as shown in SEQ ID NOs: 19 and 20.

It should be noted that the first and second peptide linkers do not need to be identical.

The signal peptide sequence (A) may be replaced by any other suitable, e.g. mammalian signal peptide sequence.

1.2 Gene Cassette Encoding the Polypeptide

The synthetic gene may be optimized in view of its codon usage for the expression in suitable host cells, e.g. insect cells or mammalian cells. A preferred nucleic acid sequence is shown in SEQ ID NO: 37.

Example 2: Expression and Purification 2.1 Cloning, Expression and Purification of Fusion Polypeptides

The aforementioned fusion proteins were expressed recombinantly in two different eukaryotic host cells:

For initial analysis of aforementioned CD40 receptor agonist fusion proteins, Hek293T cells grown in DMEM+GlutaMAX (GibCo) supplemented with 10% FBS, 100 units/ml Penicillin and 100 [mu]g/ml Streptomycin were transiently transfected with a plasmid containing an expression cassette for a fusion polypeptide and an appropriate selection marker, e.g. a functional expression cassette comprising a blasticidine, puromycin or hygromycin resistence gene. In those cases, where a plurality of polypeptide chains is necessary to achieve the final product, the expression cassettes were either combined on one plasmid or positioned on different plasmids during the transfection. Cell culture supernatant containing recombinant fusion polypeptide was harvested three days post transfection and clarified by centrifugation at 300×g followed by filtration through a 0.22 μm sterile filter.

For larger scale expression of CD40 receptor agonist fusion proteins to be used in vivo, synthetic DNA cassettes encoding the aforementioned proteins were inserted into eukaryotic expression vectors comprising appropriate selection markers (e.g. a functional expression cassette comprising a blasticidin, puromycin or hygromycin resistance gene) and genetic elements suitable to enhance the number of transcriptionally active insertion sites within the host cells genome. The sequence verified expression vectors were introduced by electroporation into suspension adapted Chinese Hamster Ovary cells (CHO-S, Invitrogen). Appropriate selection pressure was applied three days post-transfection to the transfected cells. Surviving cells carrying the vector derived resistance gene(s) were recovered by subsequent cultivation under selection pressure. Upon stable growth of the selected cell pools in chemically defined medium (PowerCHO2-CD, Lonza) at 37° C. and 7% CO2 atmosphere in an orbital shaker incubator (100 rpm, 50 mm shaking throw), the individual supernatants were analyzed by ELISA-assays detecting the aforementioned proteins and the cell pools with the highest specific productivity were expanded in shake flasks prior to protein production (orbital shaker, 100 rpm, shaking throw 50 mm).

For lab-scale protein production, individual cell pools were cultured for 7-12 days in chemically defined medium (PowerCHO2-CD, Lonza) at 37° C. and 7% CO2 atmosphere in a Wave bioreactor 20/50 EHT (GE-Healthcare). The basal medium was PowerCHO2-CD supplemented with 4 mM Glutamax. Wave culture started with a viable cell concentration of 0.3 to 0.4×10e6 cells/ml and the following settings (for a five- or ten liter bag): shaking frequency 18 rpm, shaking ankle 7°, gas current 0.2-0.3 L/min, 7% CO2, 36.5° C. During the Wave run, the cell culture was fed twice with PowerFeed A (Lonza), usually on day 2 (20% feed) and day 5 (30% feed). After the second feed, shaking frequency was increased to 22 rpm, as well as the shaking ankle to 8°.

The bioreactor was usually harvested in between day 7 to day 12 when the cell viability dropped below 80%. First, the culture supernatant was clarified using a manual depth filtration system (Millipore Millistak Pod, MCOHC 0.054 m²). For Strep-tagged proteins, Avidin was added to a final concentration of 0.5 mg/L. Finally, the culture supernatant containing the CD40 receptor agonist fusion protein was sterile filtered using a bottle top filter (0.22 μm, PES, Corning) and stored at 2-8° C. until further processing.

For affinity purification Streptactin Sepharose was packed to a column (gel bed 1 ml), equilibrated with 15 ml buffer W (100 mM Tris-HCl, 150 mM NaCl, pH 8.0) or PBS pH 7.4 and the cell culture supernatant was applied to the column with a flow rate of 4 ml/min. Subsequently, the column was washed with 15 ml buffer W and bound polypeptide was eluted stepwise by addition of 7×1 ml buffer E (100 mM Tris HCl, 150 mM NaCl, 2.5 mM Desthiobiotin, pH 8.0). Alternately, PBS pH 7.4 containing 2.5 mM Desthiobiotin can be used for this step.

Alternately to the Streptactin Sepharose based method, the affinity purification was performed employing a column with immobilized Protein-A as affinity ligand and a Akta chromatography system (GE-Healthcare). A solid phase material with high affinity for the FC-domain of the fusion protein was chosen: MABSelect Sure™ (GE Healthcare). Briefly, the clarified cell culture supernatant was loaded on a HiTrap MabSelectSure column (CV=5 ml) equilibrated in wash-buffer-1 (20 mM Pi, 95 mM NaCl, pH7.2) not exceeding a load of 10 mg fusion protein per ml column-bed. The column was washed with ten column-volumes (10CV) of aforementioned equilibration buffer followed by four column-volumes (4CV) of wash-buffer-2 (20 mM Pi, 95 mM NaCl, pH 8.0) to deplete host-cell protein and host-cell DNA. The column was then eluted with elution buffer (20 mM Pi, 95 mM NaCl, pH 3.5) and the eluate was collected in up to ten fractions with each fraction having a volume equal to column-bed volume (5 ml). Each fraction was neutralized with an equal volume of aforementioned wash-buffer-2. The linear velocity was set to 150 cm/h and kept constant during the aforementioned affinity chromatography method.

The protein amount of the eluate fractions was quantitated and peak fractions were concentrated by ultrafiltration and further purified by size exclusion chromatography (SEC).

SEC was performed on Superdex 200 10/300 GL or HiLoad 26/60 columns using an Akta chromatography system (GE-Healthcare). The columns were equilibrated with phosphate buffered saline and the concentrated, affinity-purified polypeptide was loaded onto the SEC column with the sample volume not exceeding 2% (v/v) of the column-volume. In the case of Superdex 200 10/300 GL columns (GE Healthcare), a flow rate of 0.5 ml per minute was applied. In the case of HiLoad 26/60 Superdex200 columns, a flow rate of 2.5 ml per minute was applied. The elution profile of the polypeptide was monitored by absorbance at 280 nm.

The chromatograms of analytical SEC of hexavalent scCD 40L-RBD-FC fusion proteins PROTEIN A, PROTEIN B, and PROTEIN C are shown in FIG. 5.

For determination of the apparent molecular weight of purified fusion polypeptide under native conditions a Superdex 200 column was loaded with standard proteins of known molecular weight. Based on the elution volume of the standard proteins a calibration curve was plotted and the apparent molecular weight of purified fusion polypeptide was determined. The FC-domain comprising CD40 receptor agonist fusion proteins typically eluted from the Superdex200 columns with an apparent molecular weight of approx. 160-180 kDa confirming the homodimerisation of the mature CD40 receptor agonist fusion polypeptide by the Fc domain.

Example 3: SDS-PAGE Results of Dimer Proteins Expressed from Protein A, B, and C

Protein A, B, and C were expressed and purified according to Examples 1 and 2. The three purified proteins were either non-reduced (lanes 1, 4, and 7) or reduced by dithiothreitol (Lanes 2, 5, 8), and performed SDS-Page gel electrophoresis in 4-12% bis-tris. The results are shown in FIG. 6. Lane 1 shows that under non-reduced condition, PROTEIN A expressed protein had both monomer (85 kDa) and dimer (170 kDa) bands, indicating self-reduction of the interchain hinge disulfides by endogenous free thiols present in the polypeptide itself. On the contrary, Lanes 4 and 7 show that under non-reduced condition, PROTEIN B and PROTEIN C expressed proteins had only dimer (170 kDa) band, indicating no self-reducing properties of the polypeptides themselves leaving the interchain disulfide-bridges of the hinge region intact.

Example 4: Trivalent Control Protein

To compare the relative binding between hexavalent CD40 receptor agonist fusion proteins and the, trivalent CD40 stabilized with bacteriophage RB69-FOLDON, PROTEIN X (SEQ ID NO: 38) was expressed in CHO-S cells and purified as described in the former section. The SEC-purified protein is served as control in the following Examples. The sequence of PROTEIN X (SEQ ID NO: 38) is shown in Table 7. Amino-acids 1-20 of PROTEIN X represent the signal peptide and the mature proteins starts with amino acid Gln21. This protein consists of three identical polypeptides each comprising one soluble CD40L domain (Q121-L261 of SEQ ID NO: 1); this assembly stabilized by the trimerisation domain of bacteriophage RB69 fibritin fused with a flexible linker to the C-terminus of CD40L.

TABLE 7 Trivalent control proteins including a signal peptide SEQ ID NO Sequence 38 METDTLLVFVLLVWVPAGNGQIAAHVISEASSKTTS (PROTEINX) VLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIY AQVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLCLKSPGRFERILLRA ANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGASVFVNVTDP SQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSGSSGSSGSSGSGYIEDA PSDGKFYVRKDGAWVELPTASGPSSSSSSAWSHPQF EK 39 METDTLLVFVLLVWVPAGNGQIAAHVISEASSKTTS (Protein X2) VLQWAEKGYYTMSNNLVTLENGKQLTVKRQGLYYIY AQVTFCSNREASSQAPFIASLCLKSPGRFERILLRA ANTHSSAKPCGQQSIHLGGVFELQPGASVFVNVTDP SQVSHGTGFTSFGLLKLGSSSSSSAWSHPQFEK

Example 5: Cellular Assays 5A. Cellular Binding Assay to Demonstrate Binding of CD40 Receptor Agonists to their Native Receptor CD40 on the Surface of Ramos B Cells

In order to complement our affinity data for CD40 receptor agonists obtained using the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), we wanted to investigate, whether our CD40 receptor agonists could bind their native receptor on the surface of cells. As B cells rely on CD40 signalling for full activation we used the human B cell line Ramos for this assay. Ramos cells are known to express CD40 on their surface and after incubation with CD40 receptor agonists one could imagine to be able to detect the C-terminal StrepTag II coupled to our CD40 receptor agonists with an antibody. This antibody could then in turn be detected with a fluorescent antibody and cells could be analyzed on a flow cytometer.

Ramos B cells expressing CD40 on their surface were incubated with PROTEIN X (c), PROTEIN A (d), PROTEIN B (e) or PROTEIN C (f) on ice for 30 min to allow receptor-ligand association. Cells were washed with ice-cold wash buffer followed by incubation with a polyclonal rabbit anti-StrepTagll antibody on ice for 30 min to detect CD40 receptor agonists engaged on the cell surface. Fc-Receptors were blocked by addition of 1% human IgG (Gamunex) to staining and wash buffers. Cells were washed again with ice-cold wash buffer followed by incubation with a polyclonal Alexa488-labelled goat anti-rabbit antibody on ice and in the dark for 20 min. Cells were subsequently processed for flow cytometry by washing with ice-cold PBS. Cells were analyzed on a Guava Easycyte flow cytometer and fluorescence in the green channel was acquired. Mean fluorescence units were ultimately obtained from raw flow cytometry data using FlowJo software by gating on live cells and analyzing Alexa488-fluorescence within this gate. Cells only (a) and cells only incubated with the secondary goat anti-rabbit antibody (b) served as controls.

As can be seen in FIG. 7 all CD40 receptor agonists lead to a significant rise in fluorescence of cells when compared to cells only or to cells incubated with the fluorescent secondary antibody only. In this assay, PROTEIN B produced the highest fluorescence signal (e) indicating that PROTEIN B bound better to Ramos cells. The signal strength of PROTEIN B was followed by PROTEIN A (d) and PROTEIN X (c) with PROTEIN C (f) providing the weakest signal. Taken together one can assume that all CD40 receptor agonists bind their native receptor in a cellular context in vitro with PROTEIN B being the best binder.

5B. CD86 Upregulation on B Cells as a Readout of CD40 Signaling Triggered by CD40 Receptor Agonists

CD86 is an activation marker on human B cells and it is the ligand for CD28 and CTLA-4 on T cells. CD86 surface expression is often used as a means to describe the activation state of B cells. As B cells need several signals for full activation including B cell receptor and CD40 ligation, we wondered, whether CD40 receptor agonists could lead to CD86 surface expression upregulation.

For that purpose, Ramos B cells were incubated with 1 μg/ml PROTEIN X (b), 10 μg/ml PROTEIN X (c), 1 μg/ml PROTEIN A (d) or 10 μg/ml PROTEIN A (e) in 24-well plates over night at 37° C. and 5% CO2. Untreated cells served as control (a). On the next day all samples were incubated with a PE-labelled anti-human CD86 antibody for 30 min on ice and in the dark. Fc-Receptors were blocked by addition of 1% human IgG (Gamunex) to staining and wash buffers. Samples were subsequently processed for flow cytometry on a Guava Easycyte flow cytometer. Mean fluorescence units were ultimately obtained from raw flow cytometry data using FlowJo software by gating on live cells and analyzing PE-fluorescence within this gate. Mean fluorescence values were used to express CD86 surface levels and values were normalized to the control sample, which was not incubated with a CD40 receptor agonist (a).

As can be observed in FIG. 8, all CD40 receptor agonists lead to an increase in CD86 surface expression indicating that all compounds triggered CD40 signaling. Importantly, this increase was dose-dependent when comparing bars b and c or d and e (1 μg/ml versus 10 μg/ml of the same compound, respectively). In addition, CD86 upregulation was stronger for PROTEIN A, which is hexavalent. This implied a clear avidity effect compared to PROTEIN X, which is only trivalent. The results indicate that the CD40 receptor agonists used here have biological activity in a dose-dependent manner.

5C. Whole-Blood Assay to Show Immune Cell Stimulation Concomitant with CD83 Upregulation by CD40 Receptor Agonists

CD83 is a surface molecule, which is upregulated during the proliferation and maturation process of human immune cells. CD83 is found primarily on dendritic cells and T cells and it can be used as a marker for immune cell stimulation. As shown by Chowdhury et al. (Cancer Immunology Research, 2013, doi: 10.1158/2326-6066.CIR-13-0070) CD83 upregulation can be used as a means to study immune cell activation after CD40 ligation by antibodies. We thus wondered whether our CD40 receptor agnoists could also lead to CD83 upregulation in an assay employing whole-blood.

For that purpose, whole-blood was collected from healthy donors in EDTA tubes. 2 ml of blood were incubated with 1 μg/ml PROTEIN X (b), 50 μg/ml PROTEIN X (c), 1 μg/ml PROTEIN A (d) or 50 μg/ml PROTEIN A (e) in 24-well plates for 4 hours at 37° C. and 5% CO2. Untreated blood served as control (a). After 4 hours all samples were incubated with a PerCP/Cy5.5-labelled anti-human CD83 antibody for 20 min at room temperature and in the dark. Samples were subsequently processed for flow cytometry by fixation and red blood cell lysis using BD FACS lysing solution according to manufacturer's instructions. Samples were analyzed on a Guava Easycyte flow cytometer and cell populations (granulocytes, lymphocytes and monocytes) were gated based on their scatter profile. Fluorescence in the far-red channel was acquired for each population and analysed using FlowJo software. The percentage of CD83-positive cells was determined and normalized to the control sample, which was not incubated with a CD40 receptor agonist.

As can be observed in FIG. 9, both PROTEIN X and PROTEIN A lead to the generation of a new, CD83-positive population when compared to untreated blood cells (a). This new CD83-positive population appeared for all cell populations analyzed (lymphocytes, monocytes and granulocytes) and was most prominent in the case of lymphocytes. Importantly, the percentile share of CD83-positive cells was dose-dependent when comparing bars b and c or d and e (1 μg/ml versus 50 μg/ml of the same compound, respectively). In addition, the size of the CD83-positive population was stronger for the hexavalent PROTEIN A when comparing the same doses to PROTEIN X. The results show a clear avidity effect of hexavalent PROTEIN A compared to trivalent PROTEIN X. The results also show that the CD40 receptor agonists used here had a biological activity in a dose-dependent manner using fresh, human blood.

Example 6: In Vitro Binding Assay to Immobilized CD40-Receptor

The equilibrium binding constants (Ko) of trivalent constructs of CD40L (e.g.: PROTEIN X) and hexavalent constructs of CD40L (e.g. PROTEIN A, PROTEIN B, and PROTEIN C) to CD40 was calculated based on kinetic binding data (kon and koff) determined with an automated biosensor system (Attana A100). The A100 allows to investigate molecular interactions in real-time based on the Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) technique.

For this purpose human CD40-Fc, purchased from Enzo (catalogue number: ALX-522-016-0050), was immobilized on the surface of a carboxyl-activated QCM-chip. Trimeric and hexameric CD40L-constructs were used as soluble analyte at concentrations of 1, 5, and 10 μg/ml. Binding (kon) and dissociation (koff) was analyzed. Real time measurements and calculated Ko thereof. revealed comparable binding activity among all hexavalent of proteins A, B and C, but superior binding of hexavalent proteins over trivalent Protein X.

TABLE 8 Binding strength of Compound K_(on) K_(off) K_(D) [mol] Protein X 9.87e⁴ 8.93e⁻⁴ 9.05e⁻⁹  Protein A 1.75e⁶ 2.92e⁻⁴ 1.67e⁻¹⁰ Protein B 1.91e⁶ 2.90e⁻⁴ 1.52e⁻¹⁰ Protein C 1.82e⁶ 3.21e⁻⁴ 1.76e⁻¹⁰

Example 7: Half-Life Determination

Molecules PROTEIN A/PROTEIN B/PROTEIN C are each made up of two polypeptides covalently linked by three interchain disulfide bonds and all comprise the N297S mutation at position 297 of the Fc region (according to the EU index), resulting in aglycosylation of the CH2 domain. The outer surface cysteines of the soluble CD40L domains were mutated to serine (C194 equivalent positions of CD40L as shown in SEQ ID NO:1), resulting in SEQ ID NO: 31 (PROTEIN B) with C94S, C243S, C392S, as compared to SEQ ID NO:15 (PROTEIN A). Alternatively, the outer surface cysteines of the soluble CD40L domains were mutated to alanine (C194 equivalent positions of CD40L as shown in SEQ ID NO:1), resulting in SEQ ID NO: 35 (PROTEIN C) with C94A, C243A, C392A, as compared to SEQ ID NO:15 (PROTEIN A). Half-life of resulting FC-fusion proteins was assessed for an effect introduced by these alterations.

Female NMRI mice were treated with 1.0 mg/kg of each compound (PROTEIN N PROTEIN B/PROTEIN C) as a single intravenous bolus injection. Whole blood was collected before application (pre-dose), and up to 312 hours after test item administration. Serum was prepared and samples were stored at −80° C. until determination of serum concentrations.

Quantitation of the PROTEIN A/PROTEIN B/PROTEIN C concentrations in mouse serum was performed with an ELISA-assay detecting the individual CD40 agonists shown in Table 7. Plates were coated with CD40-Fc. CD40-Ligand constructs specifically binding to its receptor CD40 were then detected via their Strep-Tag employing StrepTactin-HRP. ELISA assays were carried out using PROTEIN A or PROTEIN B or PROTEIN C as calibration and control samples. The measured data of the standard concentrations were used to create calibration curves using a 5-parameter fit. This enabled the determination of the unknown PROTEIN A or PROTEIN B or PROTEIN C concentrations in the respective mouse serum samples.

Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated using the mean serum concentrations and the pharmacokinetic evaluation program PK Solutions Version 2.0 for non-compartmental pharmacokinetic data analysis (Summit Research Services, Montrose, Colo.). PK Solutions is an automated, Excel-based application, which computes pharmacokinetic parameters from concentration-time data obtained from analysis of e.g. biological samples following intravenous or extra-vascular routes of administration. PK Solutions calculates results without presuming any specific compartmental model.

The results from the pharmacokinetics evaluation are summarized in Table 9.

TABLE 9 Results of the exploratory PK study in NMRI-mice: single intravenous dose of 1 mg/kg of PROTEIN A/PROTEIN B/PROTEIN C. PROTEIN A PROTEIN B PROTEIN C t_(max) (h) 0.083 0.083 0.083 C_(max) (μg/ml) 8.22 10.23 9.74 t_(last) (h) 192 312 144 C_(last) (μg/ml) 0.286 0.122 0.242 t_(1/2) E (h) 70.85 79.25 60.46 t_(1/2) E (d) 2.95 3.30 2.52 AUC_(0-t) (μg*h/ml) 178 273 134 AUC_(0-inf) (μg*h/ml) 222 287 155

The results show that PROTEIN B which contains the C194S mutated Q121-L261 subsequence had a prolonged in vivo stability as compared to the wild-type (PROTEIN A) or PROTEIN C which contains C194A-mutein.

Example 8: Stability/Aggregation Test (Prophetic Example)

The contents of monomers and aggregates are determined by analytical SEC as described in Example 2. For this particular purpose the analysis is performed in buffers containing physiological salt concentrations at physiological pH (e.g. 0.9% NaCl, pH 7.4; PBS pH 7.4). A typical aggregation analysis is done on a Superdex200 column (GE Healthcare). This column separates proteins in the range between 10 to 800 kDa.

For determination of the apparent molecular weight of purified fusion polypeptide under native conditions a Superdex 200 column is loaded with standard proteins of known molecular weight. Based on the elution volume of the standard proteins a calibration curve is plotted and the apparent molecular weight of purified fusion proteins of unknown molecular weight is calculated based on the elution volume.

SEC analysis of soluble, non-aggregated protein typically shows a distinct single protein peak at a defined elution volume (measured at OD at 280 nm or OD at 214 nm). This elution volume corresponds to the apparent native molecular weight of the particular protein. With regard to the definition of “monomer” in the case of FC-fusion proteins, the assembly of two polypeptide-chains is driven by the FC-part of the protein and the functional unit is a protein consisting of two chains. This unit that contains two FC-linked polypeptide chains is defined as “monomer” in the case of Fc-fusion proteins regardless of being a dimerized single-chain fusion polypeptide.

If protein aggregation occurs, the SEC analysis shows additional protein peaks with lower retention volumes. Protein oligomers potentially serve as aggregation seeds and a high content of oligomers potentially leads to aggregation of the protein. Oligomers of large molecular weight and aggregates elute in the void volume of the Superdex200 column and cannot be analyzed by SEC with respect to their native molecular weight.

Purified preparations of CD40 receptor agonist fusion proteins should preferably contain only defined monomeric protein and only a very low amount of oligomeric protein. The degree of aggregation/oligomerization of a particular CD40 receptor agonist fusion protein preparation is determined on basis of the SEC analysis by calculating the peak areas of the OD280 diagram for the defined monomer and the oligomer/aggregate fraction, respectively. Based on the total peak area the percentage of defined monomer protein is calculated as follows:

monomer content [%]=[Peak area monomer protein]/[Total peak area]×100)

The definition for soluble protein as used in this text, describes a protein preparation of purified CD40 receptor agonist protein in a buffer of physiological salt concentrations at physiological pH that contains a defined soluble protein content of >90% within a typical protein concentration range from 0.2 to 10.0 mg/ml.

Example 9: CD40 Signaling Triggered by CD40 Receptor Agonists Increases the Expression of Activation Markers on M2-Polarized Macrophages

M2-like macrophages are characterized by low expression of activation markers/T cell activation molecules, such as CD83, CD86 and HLA, and high expression of immunoregulatory molecules, such as IL-10. Because of this, M2-like macrophages are often called pro-tumor in contrast to “anti-tumor” M1-like macrophages. We decided to test if treatment with PROTEIN-B (SEQ ID NO:31) could increase the development of M1-like macrophages in normally M2-polarization conditions. To accomplish this, human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated and purified from buffy coats obtained from healthy volunteers using Ficoll-Hypaque (Sigma) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Monocytes were isolated by culturing PBMCs in medium (RPMI) in 12-well plates for 2 hr at 37° C. Monocytes were incubated in M2-polarizing conditions, IL-4 (50 ng/ml) and IL-10 (50 ng/ml), or medium alone for 3d. During this incubation period, PROTEIN-B (50 ng/ml) or medium control was added to half of the wells. On 3d, cell suspensions were stained with a cocktail of monoclonal antibodies, including CD206, CD163, CD86, CD83, HLA-DR and CD4 (BioLegend, eBioscience or BD Biosciences). DAPI (4′,6-Diamidino-2-Phenylindole, Dihydrochloride) (ThermoFisher) was used according to the manufacturer's instructions to eliminate dead cells from the analysis. Cells were analyzed using the Guava easyCyte 12 Flow Cytometer (Merck Millipore). Antibody quality was checked, and gating was performed using isotype controls. Tree Star FlowJo and Guava InCyte Software were used for the analysis of flow-cytometry data. Expression was quantified using gates and median fluorescence intensity (MFI). Treatment with IL-4 and IL-10 (M2-polarized macrophages) increased the expression of CD206 and CD163, classic markers of M2-like macrophages, on monocytes (See Table 10). In contrast, concurrent treatment with PROTEIN-B reduced CD206 and CD163 expression from 37% to 22%. CD86 (B7.2) is a classic T cell co-stimulatory molecule, and the binding partner of CD28, while CD83 is a marker of antigen presenting cell maturation. Importantly, PROTEIN-B treatment increased the co-expression of CD86 and CD83, from 5% to 20%, compared to IL-4/IL-10 alone. In addition, the expression of HLA-DR, DP was higher following PROTEIN-B treatment, 94 to 162 (MFI), compared to IL-4/IL-10 alone. These results demonstrate that PROTEIN-B treatment increases the activation status of M2-polarized macrophages and make them more potent antigen presenting cells.

TABLE 10 M2-polarization conditions: IL-4 (50 ng/ml) and IL-10 (50 ng/ml) for 3 d M2-polarized M2- monocytes with unstimulated polarized 50 ng/ml scCD40L- monocytes monocytes RBD-Fc Percentage of 27% 37% 22% macrophages that are CD206⁺ and CD163⁺ (M2-like) Percentage of  7%  5% 20% macrophages that are CD86⁺ and CD83⁺ (activation markers) HLA-DR, DP (MFI) 82    94    162   

Example 10: CD40 Receptor Agonists Treated M2-Polarized Macrophages are More Potent Antigen Presenting Cells for Naïve CD4+ T Cell Activation in an Allogenic Co-Culture System

M2-like macrophages are characterized by a weak ability to stimulate T cell responses due to low expression of HLA and co-stimulatory molecules (e.g., CD86). We wanted to test if treatment with PROTEIN-B could increase the potency of M2-like macrophages.

To test this, M2-like macrophages were generated as described above with IL-10 and IL-4 (50 ng/ml of each). Naïve CD4+ T cells were isolated from PBMCs from a second (allogenic) donor using the naive CD4+ T cell Isoaltion Kit II (Miltenyi) according to the manufacturer's instructions. T cells were labeled with CellTrace CFSE Cell Proliferation Kit (ThermoFisher) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Monocytes treated for 3 days were added to naïve CD4+ T cells at a ratio of 10 lymphocytes to 1 monocyte. T cell proliferation and blasting (growth prior to cell division) were measured 3d later using CFSE and Forward Scatter (FSC), respectively. Only 2% of T cells incubated in medium alone showed evidence of proliferation (CFSE dilution) or blasting (increased FSC) (See Table 11). In contrast, 23% of T cells incubated with unstimulated allogenic monocytes showed evidence of activation. Incubation of T cells with M2-polarized macrophages reduced the T cell response to 16%. Interestingly, adding PROTEIN-B to M2-polarizing conditions increased the potency of the allogenic macrophages and 31% of T cells responded. The data demonstrate that treatment of monocytes in with AGP1233 normally M2-polarization conditions results in more potent antigen presenting cells.

TABLE 11 M2-polarization conditions: IL-4 (50 ng/ml) and IL-10 (50 ng/ml) for 3 d CD4⁺ T CD4⁺ T cells + CD4⁺ cells + M2-polarized CD4⁺ T cells + M2- monocytes with T cells unstimulated polarized 50 ng/ml scCD40L- alone monocytes monocytes RBD-Fc Percentage of T 2% 23% 16% 32% cells that are CFSE^(dim) or FSC^(high)

Example 11: CD40 Signaling Triggered by the Hexavalent CD40 Receptor Agonist is Most Efficient at Increasing the Expression of Activation Markers and Reduces Development of M2-Like Macrophages Following Culture with Purified Human Monocytes

To test the efficiency of receptor clustering and downstream signaling, we compared the inventive hexavalent agonist PROTEIN-B to two homotrimeric trivalent CD40 receptor agonists representing common engineering concepts known in the art, PROTEIN-X2 (SEQ ID NO:39) represents the homotrimeric, non-stabilized CD40L-RBD itself and PROTEIN-X (SEQ ID NO:38) represents the homotrimeric CD40L-RBD stabilized by a C-terminal fused trimerisation scaffold derived from bacteriophage RB69. Since we have shown that productive CD40 receptor signaling leads to upregulation of activation markers and an increase in M1-like macrophage development, we purified human monocytes from buffy coats, as described above. Purified monocytes were incubated in medium supplemented with three different concentrations (10, 100 and 1000 ng/mL) of the three different constructs (See Table 12) for 3 d and cells were analyzed by flow cytometry for expression of activation and phenotype markers. Treatment with all three concentrations of the hexavalent PROTEIN-B produced a dose-dependent increase in CD86 expression (both as MFI and percentage positive) compared to the control. In contrast, none of the trivalent PROTEIN-X2 concentrations showed a difference compared to the control. In the case of the RB69-scaffold stabilized trivalent PROTEIN-X only the highest concentration, produced a slight increase of CD86 expression. In addition, the same compound and dose effect was seen with HLA-DR, DP expression which confirms that even low doses of the hexavalent construct are sufficient for receptor clustering and productive signaling, while the trivalent constructs show no activity or low activity at very high concentrations. Finally, approximately 20% of monocytes in media generally upregulate CD206 and CD163 expression in 3 d which is indicative of M2-like macrophage development. Treatment with all three concentrations of the hexavalent PROTEIN-B reduced this to less than 3%. Consistent with the activation marker data, only the high concentration of the trivalent PROTEIN-X showed any decrease in M2-like macrophage development. Taken together, the data demonstrates superior biological activity of inventive protein B.

TABLE 12 Monocytes were cultured for 3 d in the indicated conditions PROTEIN-X2 PROTEIN-X PROTEIN-B Culture Media (ng/mL) (ng/mL) (ng/mL) conditions only 10 100 1000 10 100 1000 10 100 1000 CD86 12 11 12 11 11 11 12 17 39 47 (MFI) Percentage of  8%  7%  7%  8%  7%  8% 16% 30% 58% 64% macrophages that are CD86⁺ HLA-DR, DP 27 26 29 22 26 26 31 39 54 55 (MFI) Percentage of  5%  5%  7%  2%  5%  6% 12% 20% 35% 37% macrophages that are HLA-DR, DP⁺ Percentage of 23% 21% 23% 21% 17% 21% 10%  3%  2%  1% macrophages that are CD206⁺ and CD163⁺ (M2-like)

The invention further relates to the following items 1-22

-   1. A CD40 receptor agonist protein comprising a polypeptide having     the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID     NO: 15, and 25-35. -   2. A CD40 receptor agonist protein comprising two polypeptides each     having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 27, 28, 29,     30, 32, or 34. -   3. The CD40 receptor agonist protein of item 2, wherein the two     polypeptides are covalently linked through three interchain     disulfide bonds formed between cysteine residues 453, 459, and 462     of each polypeptide. -   4. The CD40 receptor agonist protein of item 2 or 3, wherein one or     more of the asparagine residues at positions 147 and 296 of the     polypeptide(s) are N-glycosylated. -   5. The CD40 receptor agonist protein of item 2 or 3, wherein the     asparagine residues at both positions 147 and 296 of the     polypeptide(s) are N-glycosylated. -   6. The CD40 receptor agonist protein of item 1-5, wherein the     polypeptide(s) are further post-translationally modified. -   7. The CD40 receptor agonist protein of item 6, wherein the     post-translational modification comprises modification of the     N-terminal glutamine to pyroglutamate. -   8. A pharmaceutical composition comprising the CD40 receptor agonist     protein of any one of items 1-7 and one or more pharmaceutically     acceptable carriers, diluents, excipients, and/or adjuvants. -   9. A nucleic acid molecule encoding the CD40 receptor agonist     protein of item 1. -   10. An expression vector comprising the nucleic acid molecule of     item 9. -   11. A cell comprising the nucleic acid molecule of item 9. -   12. The cell of item 11, which is a eukaryotic cell. -   13. The cell of item 11, wherein the cell is a mammalian cell. -   14. The cell of item 11, wherein the cell is a Chinese Hamster Ovary     (CHO) cell. -   15. A method of treating a subject having a CD40L-associated disease     or disorder, the method comprising administering to the subject an     effective amount of the CD40 receptor agonist protein of any one of     items 1-7. -   16. The method of item 15, wherein the disease or disorder is     selected from the group consisting of: tumors, infectious diseases,     inflammatory diseases, metabolic diseases, autoimmune disorders,     degenerative diseases, apoptosis-associated diseases, and transplant     rejections. -   17. The method of item 16, wherein the tumors are solid tumors. -   18. The method of item 16, wherein the tumors are lymphatic tumors. -   19. The method of item 16, wherein the autoimmune disorders are     rheumatoid diseases, arthritic diseases, or rheumatoid and arthritic     diseases. -   20. The method of item 16, wherein the disease or disorder is     rheumatoid arthritis. -   21. The method of item 16, wherein the degenerative disease is a     neurodegenerative disease. -   22. The method of item 21, wherein the neurodegenerative disease is     multiple sclerosis. 

1. A CD40 receptor agonist protein comprising a single-chain fusion polypeptide comprising: (i) a first soluble CD40L domain, (ii) a first peptide linker, (iii) a second soluble CD40L domain, (iv) a second peptide linker, and (v) a third soluble CD40L domain, and (vi) an antibody Fc fragment, comprising the amino acid sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 13 or 14 or amino acids 1-217 of SEQ ID NO: 13, wherein the soluble CD40L domains (i), (iii) and (v) each consists of amino acids 120-261 or 121-261 of SEQ ID NO: 1, and the antibody Fc fragment (vi) is located C-terminally to the third CD40L domain (v), and is fused to the soluble CD40L domain (v) via a hinge-linker of any one of SEQ ID NOs: 16 and 19-24.
 2. The CD40 receptor agonist protein of claim 1, wherein the soluble CD40L domains (i), (iii) and (v) consist of amino acids 121-261 of human CD40L of SEQ ID NO:
 1. 3. The CD40 receptor agonist protein of claim 1, wherein the first and second peptide linkers (ii) and (iv) independently have a length of 3-8 amino acids.
 4. The CD40 receptor agonist protein of claim 3, wherein the first and second peptide linkers (ii) and (iv) independently consist of glycine and serine, or consist of glycine, serine and asparagine, wherein the asparagine is optionally glycosylated.
 5. The CD40 receptor agonist protein of claim 1, further comprising an N-terminal signal peptide domain.
 6. The CD40 receptor agonist protein of claim 1, comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26, 29, or
 30. 7. The CD40 receptor agonist protein of claim 1, comprising two polypeptides each having the amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 26, 29, or
 30. 8. The CD40 receptor agonist protein of claim 7, wherein the two polypeptides are covalently linked through three interchain disulfide bonds formed between cysteine residues 453, 459 and 462 of each polypeptide.
 9. The CD40 receptor agonist protein of claim 7, wherein one or more of the asparagine residues at positions 147 and 296 of the polypeptides are N-glycosylated.
 10. The CD40 receptor agonist protein of claim 1, wherein the polypeptide is further post-translationally modified.
 11. The CD40 receptor agonist protein of claim 10, wherein the post-translational modification comprises modification of the N-terminal glutamine to pyroglutamate.
 12. A pharmaceutical or diagnostic composition comprising the CD40 receptor agonist protein of claim 1 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
 13. A CD40 receptor agonist protein comprising a single-chain fusion polypeptide comprising: (i) a first soluble CD40L domain, (ii) a first peptide linker, (iii) a second soluble CD40L domain, (iv) a second peptide linker, and (v) a third soluble CD40L domain, and (vi) an antibody Fc fragment, wherein the antibody Fc fragment (vi) consists of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13 or 14 or amino acids 1-217 of SEQ ID NO: 13; wherein the soluble CD40L domains (i), (iii) and (v) each consists of amino acids 120-261 or 121-261 of SEQ ID NO: 1, with one or two mutations selected from the group consisting of: Q121S, Q121G, E129G, E129N, A130N, S132N, S132E, K133N, T134E, T134N, E142G, E142S, Y145S, Y146S, C178A, C178S, C178G, C194A, C194S, C194G, R200S, F201G, F201S, F201T, F201D, C218A, C218S, C218G, Q220E, Q220S, N240E, N240S, N240D, and N240T, and the antibody Fc fragment (vi) is located C-terminally to the third CD40L domain (v), and is fused to the soluble CD40L domain (v) via a hinge-linker of any one of SEQ ID NOs: 16 and 19-24.
 14. The CD40 receptor agonist protein of claim 13, wherein the first and second peptide linkers (ii) and (iv) independently have a length of 3-8 amino acids.
 15. The CD40 receptor agonist protein of claim 14, wherein the first and the second peptide linkers (ii) and (iv) consist of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 2. 16. A pharmaceutical or diagnostic composition comprising the CD40 receptor agonist protein of claim 13 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. 